Scientists Launch First Human Vaccine Trials For Deadly Nipah Virus
ForbesJAN 14 2024
A 14-year-old boy died of Nipah infection in the city of Kozhikode in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Officials Sunday said he suffered a cardiac arrest during treatment.
A native of the neighboring Malappuram district, the boy had reportedly developed a fever 11 days ago and had been on life support since Friday.
Officials said that of the 214 people on the victim's primary contact list, 60 are in the high-risk category. Isolation wards have been set up at various hospitals.
The southern Indian state of Kerala contained its last Nipah virus outbreak of September 2023 in just a week, thanks to a well-prepared response plan. It immediately quarantined affected areas, issued alerts, and declared containment zones. Schools were closed, and rapid diagnostic teams were deployed. Extensive contact tracing, strict quarantine measures, and public cooperation, bolstered by COVID-19 experiences, were pivotal. Effective coordination, decentralized decision-making, and robust public health infrastructure were key to Kerala's success in containing the virus quickly.
Kerala's recent and frequent Nipah outbreaks highlight the state's vulnerability to such pathogens. Despite its past experiences, Kerala lacks a robust disease monitoring system. The failure to identify symptoms in time underscores this issue. Factors like increased animal protein consumption and habitat encroachment heighten the risk of zoonotic diseases. Reviving the state's epidemic prevention cell and adopting the WHO's 'One Health' approach, which links human, animal, and environmental health, are crucial to better handling future outbreaks and reducing fatalities.