Nipah virus infection

Nipah virus infection is an infection caused by the Nipah virus. Symptoms from infection vary from none to fever, cough, headache, shortness of breath, and confusion. This may worsen into a coma over a day or two, and 50% to 75% of those infected die. Complications can include inflammation of the brain and seizures following recovery.

The Nipah virus (NiV) is a type of RNA virus in the genus Henipavirus, which normally circulates among fruit bats of the genus Pteropus. Spread typically requires direct contact with an infected source; it can both spread between people and from other animals to people. Diagnosis is based on symptoms and confirmed by laboratory testing.

Management is restricted to supportive care; as of 2021 there is neither vaccine nor specific treatment. Preventive measures include avoiding exposure to bats and infected animals such as pigs, and not drinking raw date palm sap. As of May 2018 about 700 human cases of Nipah virus were estimated to have occurred, and 50 to 75 percent of those infected died.

The disease was first identified in 1998 by a team of researchers at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya during an outbreak in Malaysia. The majority of the patients in Malaysia diagnosed with the disease were referred to and treated at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. The virus was isolated and identified in 1999. The disease is named after a village in Malaysia, Sungai Nipah. Pigs may also be infected, millions of which were culled by Malaysian authorities in 1999 to successfully stop the spread of the disease.