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VIDEO: What is India’s Nipah virus and should Australians be worried?
What is India’s Nipah virus and should Australians be worried?
COURTNEY BEMBRIDGE, REPORTER: Thermal screening at airports, quarantining and testing and a deadly virus that spreads from bats to humans.
This time, we’re talking about Nipah virus after two cases were recorded in India's West Bengal state.
Countries across Asia have stepped up their measures including India, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Nipah spreads from animals to humans putting it in the same category as COVID and Ebola.
The virus comes from fruit bats but can spread to other animals and humans through contaminated food.
It can also spread from human to human through close contact.
Nipah Virus Outbreak Has Asia on High Alert Amid Deaths in India
An outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in India has put many countries in Asia on high alert, given the fatality rate in humans can be between 40% and 75%.
Several countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, have introduced new screening and testing measures, after at least two people died of Nipah virus in the Indian state of West Bengal this month.
But what is Nipah virus, and how concerned should we be?
Related: Virus Discovery Among Bats in China Fruit Orchards Draws Exposure Concerns
Like Hendra virus, Nipah is in a category of viruses called henipaviruses. It is zoonotic, meaning it can spread from animals to humans.
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Nipah virus cases confirmed in India
SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia.
Illustration of a Nipah virus Credit: RUSLANAS BARANAUSKAS/SCIENCE PHO/Getty Images/Science Photo Libra
It's prompted multiple countries in Asia to step up airport screenings to prevent the spread of the infection, which at this stage has no vaccine or proven treatment. However, experts say while it's a dangerous virus with a high fatality rate, it doesn't spread easily from person-to-person.
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