The worldwide spread of the Nipah virus found in bats in the state of Maharashtra in India cannot be ruled out, said Evgeny Abizov, biologist and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, to FAN. Earlier, the appearance of this virus in bats was announced at the National Institute of Virology of India. It struck 80 bats from one cave. Prior to that, only foxes and mice were infected from animals. Scientists consider it necessary to study this problem.
Abizov noted that human infection from a bat against the background of hypotheses about the origin of the coronavirus is quite possible. “If the Nipah virus is also contagious to humans, then, as soon as it is introduced into his body, it can easily start walking around the world,” the biologist said.
In this case, a person can very simply protect himself from infection with a virus – for this it is enough not to eat bitten fruit. But it cannot be ruled out that Nipah can be spread in other ways as well. “Since viral particles can retain their pathogenicity for quite a long time, where mice or their metabolic products in any format have been, there may well be foci,” the specialist added.
Earlier it was reported that in India there have already been four outbreaks of the Nipah virus. There is no vaccine for it today.
.