NIPAH virus kills 8--Bangladesh

[Malcolm]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gt5QjVGTQocukuhSmfPd7aAksavg

Medical officials confirm Nipah virus returns to Bangladesh

4 hours ago

DHAKA (AFP) ? The deadly Nipah virus has returned to Bangladesh, killing at least eight people since the latest outbreak was confirmed, officials said Sunday.

Nipah induces flu-like symptoms that often lead to encephalitis and coma, with at least a 70 percent mortality rate in Bangladesh. The latest outbreak was confirmed on Friday.

"So far eight people including four children have died in the latest outbreak of the Nipah virus in (central) Manikganj and Rajbari districts," said Mahmudur Rahman, a senior health official.

"Several others are in critical condition. We told people not to be panicked. We have also increased surveillance in the affected area," he said.

At least 89 people have died of the virus since the first outbreak in 2001. The Bangladesh government has set up a detection laboratory to speed up testing for any outbreak.

In 2004, the same two districts reported the worst outbreak, when nearly 40 people died, and the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention was called in to help combat the disease.

The virus, named after the Malaysian village where it was first detected, jumped the species barrier from fruit bats to pigs and then to humans in October 1998. It is believed to be caught through direct contact with pigs.

In 1999, 256 people in Malaysia fell ill with the disease, and four in 10 patients died. More than a million pigs were slaughtered to help curb its spread.

[Shiloh]

Bangladesh: Nipah virus returns Claims 8 lives so far

Source: http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/200...3/news0017.htm

Nipah virus returns Claims 8 lives so far

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

At least, eight people died in the last 48 hours due to latest outbreak of Nipah virus, health officials confirmed yesterday.

Nipah outbreak is the latest among the recent waves of biological invasions like bird flu in the country.

Nipah induces flu-like symptoms that often lead to encephalitis and coma, with at least a 70 per cent mortality rate in Bangladesh. Earlier, the latest outbreak was confirmed on Friday. Mahmudur Rahman, a senior health official, said.

"So far eight people including four children have died in the latest outbreak of the Nipah virus in Manikganj and Rajbari districts,"

"Several others are in critical condition. We told people not to be panicked. We have also increased surveillance in the affected area," he said.

"Basically Nipah virus outbreak occurs from drinking bat eaten date juice. We request people not to leave uncovered the pots for collecting date juice and to boil the juice properly before drinking. In case of urban areas, risk is low, but in rural areas, people could get easily infected with the virus by drinking date juice," said Mahmudur.

At least 89 people have died of the virus since the first outbreak in 2001. The government has set up a detection laboratory to speed up testing for any outbreak.

In 2004, the same two districts reported the worst outbreak, when nearly 40 people died, and the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDCP) was called in to help combat the disease.

The virus, named after the Malaysian village where it was first detected, jumped the species barrier from fruit bats to pigs and then to humans in October 1998.

In 1999, 256 people in Malaysia fell ill with the disease, and four in 10 patients died. More than a million pigs were slaughtered to help curb its spread.

Of 265 confirmed cases in Malaysia and Singapore, 105 had died. And even among the survivors the virus has taken awful toll - half of the survivors were left with some degree of brain damage.

[Shiloh]

Re: NIPAH virus kills 8--Bangladesh

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/southA...32816820080402
Tainted fruit blamed for Bangladesh Nipah outbreaks
Thu Apr 3, 2008 5:14am IST

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Bangladeshis who fell sick with the new and dangerous Nipah virus in recent years probably caught it from eating contaminated fruit or from contact with infected domestic animals, scientists said.

There have been nine Nipah outbreaks in Bangladesh since 2001, resulting in the deaths of between 40 and 100 percent of infected people, said Jahangir Hossain, of the Dhaka Hospital, at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh.

"Three outbreaks in Bangladesh were caused when people ate fresh date palm sap, a local sweet delicacy, which had been contaminated by bats," Hossain said in a statement issued by the Society for General Microbiology.

"Because both people and animals in Bangladesh often eat fresh date palm sap and fruits which have been bitten by bats, contaminated food and domestic animals form an important transmission pathway for Nipah virus to infect people."

Fruit bats are believed to be a natural reservoir of the Nipah virus, which was first seen when it killed more than 100 people out of 257 infected in Malaysia in 1999.

According to local media reports the virus has killed at least 89 people in Bangladesh since 2001.

Hossain said the first outbreaks in Malaysia started when pigs on farms ate fruit which had been bitten by infected bats. The pigs later developed coughs and breathing difficulties, and the virus soon spread to pig farmers and abattoir workers.

The deadly brain and lung disease is now spreading into rural India and Bangladesh. In one outbreak in Bangladesh, people became infected after contact with sick cows, while close contact with pig herds was associated with another outbreak.

Hossain's team is working with date palm sap collectors to stop bats from contaminating date palm sap.

"If we can identify the factors that allow the virus to be passed from bats to humans so frequently, we might be able to help intervene and interfere with the transmission pathways," he said.

"Current efforts should focus on restricting the consumption of fruit bitten by bats, restricting human contact with sick animals, and protecting date palm sap from contamination by bat secretions."