What Is Nipah Virus? Outbreak in India Kills at Least 3.

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The Nipah virus in a sample of cerebrospinal fluid from an infected patient.
Credit: BSIP/UIG/Getty

▼ At least three people in India have died from a rare virus known as Nipah virus, according to news reports.
The deaths occurred in Kerala, a state in southern India, according to the BBC. While three deaths have been confirmed so far, an additional six deaths are suspected, and 25 other people have been hospitalized with symptoms of the infection, the BBC reported.
Nipah virus infection is an emerging disease that was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The virus is thought to naturally infect fruit  bats(of the genusPteropus), but it can also infect pigs and other domesticated animals, as well as humans, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus can also spread from person to person.
Nipah virus can cause an inflammation of the brain known as encephalitis, according to the CDC. Symptoms can include fever and headache, followed by drowsiness, disorientation and confusion. People who are infected with the virus may fall into a coma within 48 hours of showing symptoms, the CDC says.
The virus can be highly lethal, with an average fatality rate of around 75 percent, according to the WHO. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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Nipah virus

The virus can be transferred from a human through close contact, body fluids, saliva and cough.

40-75% mortality rate

Eleven people dead in southern India due to outbreak of Nipah virus

3 nurses who had treated Nipah Virus affected patients in Kerala fall ill, one dead

North Kerala affected. Central & Southern Kerala safe for the time being.

Fruit Bats are the carriers of this virus. Infection can be transmitted by consumption of fruits infected by bats.

The symptoms lead to fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma, and potentially death.

The incubation period for the virus ranges from 5 to 14 days and symptoms become visible after this period.

Not alarming situation but be cautious.