Scientists from the National Institute of Virology of India have identified the deadly Nipah virus in bats for the first time, according to a preprint article in the Journal of Infections and Public Health. The virus was found in animals from the state of Maharashtra. There is no vaccine for this virus. Mortality among humans ranges from 40 to 75%.
Previously, the virus was found only in foxes and common mice. The virus enters humans through fruits that are contaminated with animal saliva. There have been four outbreaks of the Nipah virus in India in 2001, 2007, 2018 and 2019. He affected the states of West Bengal and Kerala.
Since March, 80 bats have been studied in the Mahabaleshwara Cave, and they have been found to have antibodies to the Nipah virus. Scientists are sounding the alarm – the places of accumulation of bats are located in the vicinity of human habitation.
It should be noted that this article is a preprint. This means that there is no accurate prediction about the possibility of an epidemic of the Nipah virus, and final conclusions cannot yet be drawn due to the small sample of animals studied. Therefore, new research is needed.
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