Nipah deadlier than COVID, says virologist

VELLORE: The Union government should immediately undertake a study to find out whether there were any unrecognised cluster deaths in the area between West Bengal and Kerala to find out how the Nipah virus emerged in Kerala, noted virologist Dr T Jacob John has said.

Stating that “we have no vaccine for the Nipah virus which is a killer with high mortality,” he added that “while coronavirus has to be breathed in for a person to be infected, Nipah virus could spread through body fluids including saliva, nasal dropping, blood, urine and faeces falling on a person.”

“Though the symptoms of both the Nipah virus and coronavirus are similar, COVID-19 vaccines will not work as Nipah is from a negative strand RNA virus family,” he added.

The virus is caused by the saliva of fruit-eating bats (flying foxes) and was first discovered in Indonesia in the mid-nineties of the last century.

Fruits half-eaten by such bats fall to the ground and when eaten byanimals or humans spread the deadly virus.

“However, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia resulted in the smoke and fumes driving fruit bats to places like Singapore and from there to Bangladesh and West Bengal in India,” Jacob John added. The virus in Malaysia and Singapore caused a huge economic loss as nearly 1 million pigs were killed to control the menace which resulted in nearly 300 human deaths.

In West Bengal, toddy is tapped from palm trees by cutting at the top with the sap being allowed to flow down. When bats take a sip of this fluid, it infects the sap in the tree and the virus spreads when toddy is made from this. West Bengal controlled the virus by ordering that cloth be used to cover the cut portion of the palm tree. “Government has to now find out how the virus moved from West Bengal to Kerala and investigation into deaths – single or in clusters – without any known cause will provide a clue,” he added.

Asked about safety precautions, he said “use of masks, hand washing, wearing gloves are a must and in extreme cases resorting to the use of PPE kits.”

Centre should undertake a study to find out unrecognised cluster deaths in area between West Bengal and Kerala, he says