Recently circulated reports have suggested that the Nipah virus has the potential to become the next global pandemic. However, data by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that Nipah reportedly infected only 600 people in 17 years.
The Nipah virus, which was first identified in an outbreak in Malaysia in 1998, infected approximately 600 people between 1998 and 2015, according to WHO.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus infected over 100 million people worldwide in a year’s time. Health officials warn the number of confirmed cases is only a fraction of the real number of infections around the world.
The WHO organization defines a pandemic as “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people.”
Nipah, a zoonotic virus – transmitted from animals to humans, causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis, according to WHO. The major outbreaks were due to transmission from bats and pigs.
The WHO has said in 2018 Nipah was a public health concern because it infected a wide range of animals and caused severe disease and death in people. However, “Nipah virus has caused only a few known outbreaks in Asia,” it added.
Countries which have been affected by Nipah in the past include: Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh and India. Other countries, WHO identifies as “may be at risk for infection”, include: Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Philippines, and Thailand.
“Infected people initially develop symptoms including fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting and sore throat. This can be followed by dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, and neurological signs that indicate acute encephalitis,” the WHO said in a report.
“The case fatality rate is estimated at 40 per cent to 75 per cent. This rate can vary by outbreak depending on local capabilities for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management,” it added.
WHO does rank Nipah as one of its priority diseases for research and development in public health emergency contexts. The WHO’s list prioritizes diseases which “pose the greatest public health risk due to their epidemic potential and/or whether there are no or insufficient countermeasures.” But the list is not exhaustive and “does not indicate the most likely causes of the next epidemic.”
