GENEVA, Jan 30 (Reuters) – A World Health Organization official said on Friday that the risk of the spread of the Nipah virus is low, saying that none of the over 190 contacts of the two people infected in India had tested positive or developed symptoms of the disease.
Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are among the Asian locations that tightened airport screening checks this week to guard against such a spread after India confirmed infections.
“The risk on a national, regional and global level is considered low,” Anais Legand, an official with WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, told a Geneva press briefing, saying that neither person travelled while symptomatic. Both of the infected patients are hospitalised and are alive, she added, with one showing signs of improvement.
Legand said the WHO was waiting for India to release the sequence of the virus to assess any possible mutation but said there was “no specific evidence that would make us worry for the time being”.
Carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, the virus can cause fever and brain inflammation. It has a fatality rate ranging from 40% to 75%, with no cure. Vaccines in development are still being tested.
The source of this infection is not yet fully understood. Hypotheses such as infection from drinking palm juice or exposure at healthcare facilities are being considered, Legand said.
(Reporting by Emma Farge, editing by Friederike Heine and Thomas Seythal)
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