The death of a 24-year-old student from a highly contagious bat pathogen has led to widespread shutdowns with people urged to avoid public spaces amid fears of an outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus. Causing extreme fever and brain swelling, the virus is thought to kill more than half of those infected.
Nipah is classified as a "priority pathogen" by the World Health Organisation, due to its high fatality rate and the speed at which an outbreak can spread, both through human contact and through eating fruit contaminated by infected bats. In 2018, the last outbreak of the virus in the Kerala region of India had an almost 90 per cent fatality rate, with 17 dead and only two known survivors.
More than 200 potential contacts of the student have been traced in Kerala, India, and quarantined by officials attempting to stem another deadly outbreak of the bat-borne virus, which can kill less than a week after symptoms begin to show. The young male student, identified by Kerala health authorities, died just five days after developing a fever.
Sadly, by the time his blood sample had been taken to a lab and tested for the illness, he had died.
According to Indian publication The Hindu, certain schools and universities have shut or are enforcing mask-wearing after the resurgence in Nipah cases. This has been partially spurred by reports that the infected student had to travel to four hospitals while seeking treatment, causing officials to identify hundreds of potential contacts.
The 24-year-old from near Wandoor in Kerala is the second person to die from the encephalitis-causing Nipah in recent months. Just six miles away in Pandikkad, a 14-year-old boy tragically died in June after becoming infected.
Of the more than 200 contacts and healthcare workers identified as at-risk from infection, Kerala health officials have so far identified and are treating five people who are suspected to have contracted Nipah virus.
Kerala's Health Ministry reassured the public on Saturday that the vast majority had tested negative, saying in a statement: "As of September 21, 74 test results have returned negative so far."
But Indian authorities are remaining cautious, as there could still be more people yet to present symptoms. On its website, the World Health Organisation explains: "The incubation period (interval from infection to the onset of symptoms) is believed to range from 4 to 14 days.
"However, an incubation period as long as 45 days has been reported. Most people who survive acute encephalitis make a full recovery, but long-term neurologic conditions have been reported in survivors. Approximately 20 per cent of patients are left with residual neurological consequences such as seizure disorder and personality changes.
"A small number of people who recover subsequently relapse or develop delayed onset encephalitis. 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."
The initial symptoms of Nipah virus, which is carried by bats and transmitted to humans by infected food, or other humans, include: fever, muscle pain, vomiting, sore throat, and headaches.
But within a matter of days, as the fever ramps up and brain encephalitis sets in, patients can begin to struggle breathing, develop delirium, and fall into a coma.