Teh One Who Knocks
05-30-2018, 11:27 AM
Martine Berg Olsen for Metro.co.uk
https://i.imgur.com/t3xr4yCl.jpg
At least 13 people have died of a rare nipah virus outbreak in India, leading health official to fear a global epidemic.
The disease, which kills up to 75% of those infected, starts with flu-like symptoms and causes a brain-swelling condition known as encephalitis.
The virus has not yet spread beyond two areas in south India, according to officials, but they have issued a series of warnings to people living in the stricken towns where more than 200 people are being treated in hospitals.
Over 25 people are under strict observation and another three are in a critical condition.
The disease has claimed over a dozen victims since the outbreak began a few weeks ago in the state of Kerala, an unidentified senior health ministry official told the Press Trust of India news agency.
https://i.imgur.com/hybnQcS.jpg
The virus causes brain damage (Picture: Reuters)
https://i.imgur.com/t58ZC3L.jpg
There is no vaccine for nipah, which is listed alongside ebola and zika as one of eight priority diseases by the World Health Organisation, who believe it could cause a global epidemic.
No treatment is available beyond supportive care to make patients suffering from high fever, vomiting and convulsion feel comfortable.
While officials believe this outbreak began with someone infected by a fruit bat, the ministry official said every subsequent infection came from human-to-human contact, sometimes passing to relatives or medical workers caring for the sick.
About 100 families where someone has had contact with infected people are being carefully monitored.
https://i.imgur.com/lBzPTxt.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Ai45kqG.jpg
On Thursday, medical workers in white plastic suits and breathing masks buried a victim in the town of Kozhikode.
Many of the mourners who turned out for the burial were also wearing breathing masks.
Officials have issued a set of warnings to two parts of Kerala, including telling the public to avoid consuming partially eaten fruit from date palms and raw liquor made from dates.
People have also been told to avoid abandoned wells.
Fruit bats eat dates from palm trees, and sometimes nest in wells.
The central government has dispatched teams from the National Centre for Disease Control to the area to monitor the outbreak.
Nipah has killed 260 people in Malaysia, Bangladesh and India since 1998, and has previously spread to Singapore.
https://i.imgur.com/t3xr4yCl.jpg
At least 13 people have died of a rare nipah virus outbreak in India, leading health official to fear a global epidemic.
The disease, which kills up to 75% of those infected, starts with flu-like symptoms and causes a brain-swelling condition known as encephalitis.
The virus has not yet spread beyond two areas in south India, according to officials, but they have issued a series of warnings to people living in the stricken towns where more than 200 people are being treated in hospitals.
Over 25 people are under strict observation and another three are in a critical condition.
The disease has claimed over a dozen victims since the outbreak began a few weeks ago in the state of Kerala, an unidentified senior health ministry official told the Press Trust of India news agency.
https://i.imgur.com/hybnQcS.jpg
The virus causes brain damage (Picture: Reuters)
https://i.imgur.com/t58ZC3L.jpg
There is no vaccine for nipah, which is listed alongside ebola and zika as one of eight priority diseases by the World Health Organisation, who believe it could cause a global epidemic.
No treatment is available beyond supportive care to make patients suffering from high fever, vomiting and convulsion feel comfortable.
While officials believe this outbreak began with someone infected by a fruit bat, the ministry official said every subsequent infection came from human-to-human contact, sometimes passing to relatives or medical workers caring for the sick.
About 100 families where someone has had contact with infected people are being carefully monitored.
https://i.imgur.com/lBzPTxt.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Ai45kqG.jpg
On Thursday, medical workers in white plastic suits and breathing masks buried a victim in the town of Kozhikode.
Many of the mourners who turned out for the burial were also wearing breathing masks.
Officials have issued a set of warnings to two parts of Kerala, including telling the public to avoid consuming partially eaten fruit from date palms and raw liquor made from dates.
People have also been told to avoid abandoned wells.
Fruit bats eat dates from palm trees, and sometimes nest in wells.
The central government has dispatched teams from the National Centre for Disease Control to the area to monitor the outbreak.
Nipah has killed 260 people in Malaysia, Bangladesh and India since 1998, and has previously spread to Singapore.