Nipah virus: Nepal has issued an alert regarding the possible spread of infection from India.

Dr Krishna Prasad Poudel, spokesman of the Nepal Health Ministry said that the risk of further spread of the virus in Nepal cannot be ruled out as the border between Nepal and India is open.

“The lethal NiV infection, which spreads from animals to humans and then from human to human, causing severe disease, has now been detected in the Indian state of Kerala,” a ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Earlier this month, a 12-year-old boy in Kerala died of Nipah infection.

Poudel said that although the virus has not yet been detected in the country, the risk remains high. He said the fruit bat is the natural host of the virus and it spreads to pigs, cattle and then to humans.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic disease that spreads from animals to people and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly from person to person.

According to WHO, there is no cure or vaccine available for people or animals. First aid for humans is supportive care. “It can be passed from contaminated food and directly from human-to-human to humans,” the ministry said.

Fever, dizziness, headache, muscle aches, nausea, shortness of breath and tonsillitis are symptoms of NIV infection and have a relatively high infection rate.

Cleaning fruits thoroughly before eating, Eating only well-ripened vegetables, Keeping cowsheds and fields clean, Using gloves and masks when slaughtering animals and cooking meat, Drinking boiled water, Soap and water Frequent hand-washing and using a mask in public are recommended as preventive measures against the virus.

According to the ministry, the mortality rate of NIV is 45 to 75 percent. The WHO considers the disease caused by NIV as one of the 10 deadliest diseases in the world.

Today Kerala Health Minister Veena George informed that 17 more people have tested negative for Nipah virus. Of these, 5 persons were tested at NIV Pune and the rest in a specially set up laboratory at Kozhikode Medical College. George said, ‘Samples of 140 people have been found negative.

(with inputs from PTI)