Nipah Virus Research Paper

Nipah virus

Genus Henipavirus, family Paramyxoviridae

Scientific name: Henipavirus

Higher classification: Paramyxoviridae (Paramyxoviridae is a family of viruses. Humans, vertebrates, and birds serve as natural hosts )

Rank: Genus

Contents:

 Introduction to the Nipah Virus

 Why it is called the Nipah virus

 Causes and Effects

 Signs and Symptoms of the Nipah Virus

 Treatment

 Transmission

 Diagnosis

 Environmental considerations

 Bibliography Introduction to the Nipah Virus

The Nipah Virus (NiV) infection was originally isolated and acknowledged in 1999 in a large outbreak. This mild disease was found in an outbreak of encephalitis and respiratory illness among pig farmers and people with close contact

Patients presented primarily with encephalitis: 39% of those patients died. Nearly 300 human cases with over 100 deaths were reported.

More than a million pigs were euthanized, causing tremendous trade loss for Malaysia. In 2001 this virus was seen again in Bangladesh and then the following year in India.

The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus.

The finding place, Malaysia, has a large growth of intensively managed commercial pig farms with fruit trees on the farm this created an environment where bats could drop partially eaten fruit contaminated with the NiV virus into pig farms. The pigs then would eat the fruit and become infected with NiV, and efficiently transmit the virus to other pigs because of the dense pig population on the farms, common respiratory shedding of the virus among infected pigs, and the pigs’ high birth rate that regularly brought newly susceptible young pigs into the population at risk.

Why it is called the Nipah virus The virus was named after Sungai Nipah, a village in the Malaysian Peninsula where it was first discovered when pig farmers became ill with encephalitis.

Causes and

Treatment is limited to supportive care. Because Nipah virus encephalitis can be transmitted person-to-person, standard infection control practices and proper barrier nursing techniques are important in preventing hospital-acquired infections (nosocomial transmission). Treatment is supportive, with some patients requiring measures such as mechanical ventilation.

The drug ribavirin has been shown to be effective against the viruses in vitro, but human investigations to date have been inconclusive and the clinical usefulness of ribavirin remains uncertain.

- Ribavirin is an anti-viral drug used for severe RSV infection; hepatitis C infection, including if persistent.

Ribavirin appeared to be hopeful in some outbreaks, but had little or no effect on the outcome in animals, and its effectiveness is currently considered to be uncertain. Other potential treatments, such as the administration of antibodies to Nipah virus, are being investigated in preclinical