Here’s what we know about the deadly Nipah virus
In the latest outbreak, the incurable virus has killed at least 11 people in India
VIRUS SLEUTHS Forest officials in the south Indian state of Kerala place a bat found in a well into a container for testing to see if it might be carrying the Nipah virus.
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KOCHI, India — The rare and deadly Nipah virus has emerged in southern India, killing at least 11 people and causing more than 25 others to be hospitalized. Although global health officials consider that, so far, to be a relatively small outbreak, they’re worried.
Nipah is on the World Health Organization’s priority list of emerging diseases that could cause a global pandemic, alongside Zika and Ebola.
“This is the first time we’ve seen the virus in south India,” says R.L. Sarita, the director of health services in the Indian state of Kerala. “And we want to make sure that it stays contained here.”
Those infected suffer a quick onset of symptoms, including fever, vomiting, disorientation, mental confusion, encephalitis and — in up to 70 percent of cases, depending on the strain — ultimately death. Here
