The increase in cases of Nipah virus in India has prompted statements from Indonesian health service officials.
In Kerala, India, two deaths have been attributed to Nipah virus in recent days. The virus has previously spread in Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Due to the native fruit bat species in Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Madagascar, Thailand, and the Philippines, there is a risk of contracting the virus in these countries.
Health authorities have sent out a circular letter about the outbreak in India due to the increase in Indian visitors to Bali.
The Provincial Secretary of Bali said on September 11, “Indian tourists have an important role in driving Bali tourism. Therefore we must maintain this momentum together.”
I Nyoman Gee Anom, the head of the Bali Provincial Health Service, said that Indonesia is keeping an eye on the Nipah virus outbreak because it is an emerging disease.
“The mode of transmission can be through contact with contaminated urine, saliva, specimens or eating,” Anom explained.
In the majority of documented cases, patients who have caught the Nipah Virus did so by coming into close contact with a sick, infected animal, such as a pig, or by eating fruit or fruit-derived products contaminated with secretions from fruit bats.
Acute respiratory infections, fever, headache, muscle discomfort, vomiting and sore throat are among the symptoms to look out for.
Dizziness, somnolence, altered consciousness, and neurological symptoms suggestive of acute encephalitis may occur as the infection worsens.
It is thought that the incubation phase lasts 4 to 14 days. According to WHO data, the fatality rate is between 40 and 75 percent.
The risk of person-to-person transmission is low, according to Prof. I Gusti Ngurah Kade Mahardika, a virologist at Udayana University.
The majority of cases of human-to-human transmission of Nipah virus during previous global epidemics came from individuals caring for sick patients.
According to the World Health Organization, there is no vaccine against Nipah virus. Nevertheless, raising public awareness of the virus can help prevent infection and reduce risk.
The primary route of transmission, according to WHO, is from bat to human.
“The risk of international transmission via fruits or fruit products (such as raw date palm juice) contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats can be prevented by washing them thoroughly and peeling them before consumption. Fruit with signs of bat bites should be discarded.” WHO states.