What is Nipah virus? And what makes it so deadly?

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Allen Cheng, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Monash University

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?

Here’s what you need to know.

What is Nipah virus?

Like Hendra virus, Nipah is in a category of viruses called henipaviruses. It is zoonotic, meaning it can spread from animals to humans.

As I explained in a previous Conversation article, outbreaks happen in Asia from time to time. The first outbreak was reported in 1998 in Malaysia.

There are three major ways it’s transmitted.

The first is via exposure to bats, and in particular via contact with the saliva, urine or faeces of an infected bat. Infections can also occur from contact with other infected animals, such as pigs in the original outbreak in Malaysia.