Symptoms of Nipah Virus along with Diagnosis, and Treatment Options

Nipah Virus Treatment Options: Its Cause and Symptoms

Losing your hope and faith in life is like losing immunity to a virus. This proverb tries to say that if you lose faith in your life, it's similar to losing your immunity to a virus that might ruin your life. One such virus for which one has to be confident in its cure with proper diagnosis and treatment is the Nipah virus.

The outbreak of the Nipah virus was seen in 1998 in peninsular Malaysia among pigs and pig farmers. Later in 2001, in the Meherpur District, Bangladesh, and Siliguri, the India Nipah virus was reported. Let's have a look at the Nipah virus symptoms, its diagnosis, and treatment options.

Nipah Virus (NiV)

Nipah virus (NiV) is a virus that gets transmitted mainly through fruit bats, but it can also be transmitted through pigs and other animals. It can result in severe symptoms like death; however, there is no vaccine or medication for it. The Nipah virus is very common in Asia, especially in India and Bangladesh.

Nipah virus is considered to be a bat-borne and zoonotic virus that could cause Nipah virus infection in humans. This infection could result in human and other animal deaths. It is a disease with a high mortality rate. Several Nipah virus disease outbreaks have happened in Southeast Africa and Southeast Asia.

Nipah Virus Causes

Many things became the reason for the occurrence of the Nipah virus. Nipah viruses are caused by the following :

Close contact with the infected animals.
Getting in contact with the bodily liquids of infected persons or animals.
Contaminated food or other items.
Contaminated Place.

The symptoms of Nipah virus infection can be asymptomatic, mild, or serious respiratory symptoms. Symptoms of the Nipah virus appear 4–14 days after a person's exposure to NiV, and they are non-specific. A phase of acute encephalitis might follow these non-specific symptoms. Acute encephalitis might rapidly develop into a coma within 24–48 hours in some people.

Many individuals who survive the acute encephalitis stage have a full recovery; however, death due to the NiV happens in an estimated 40–75% of cases. Among the survivors of acute encephalitis, residual neurological consequences like seizure disorders and personality changes might be seen in 20% of the individuals. A few people might get the delayed-onset disease, which is called dormant or latent infection.

Nipah Virus Symptoms

The Nipah virus shows many symptoms. The symptoms of the Nipah virus might include :

Headache
Fever
Breathing difficulties
Cough and sore throat
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Muscle pain
Serious weakness

One can see the Nipah virus symptoms beginning within four to 14 days after exposure to it. Initially, you may see a fever or headache, then you could have respiratory problems like a cough and breathing difficulty.

In serious cases of this virus, a person can see a brain infection (encephalitis), which may be harmful to their life. Its other severe symptoms include :

Confusion and disorientation
Respiratory distress
Speech slurring
Coma
Seizures

Nipah Virus Diagnosis

The primary symptoms of Nipah virus infection are often nonspecific, which makes it difficult to have an early diagnosis. This difficulty may hinder proper detection and control at the right time.

Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR): Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) helps find the existence of viruses in bodily fluids, giving a fast and accurate diagnosis. This test uses bodily fluids like nasal or throat swabs, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), urine samples, and blood samples to diagnose the condition.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) : This method helps in detecting the antibodies against the Nipah virus at the time of the acute and convalescent phases.
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Assay : olymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay helps find out the viral genetic material in the clinical samples.
Virus Isolation by Cell Culture : In the Virus Isolation by Cell Culture method, the virus is cultivated from clinical samples to confirm the existence of infection.

Nipah Virus Treatment

There are no antiviral medications available to treat the Nipah virus. However, there are some ways and medications that could manage its symptoms. This treatment option includes:

Drink plenty of water.
Take a good amount of rest.
Take acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
You can use medications to control its symptoms, like nausea or vomiting.
You could use inhalers or nebulizers to mitigate the breathing difficulties.
Consume antiseizure medications if you get affected by a seizure.

Currently, a few researchers are studying the monoclonal antibody treatment for the Nipah virus.

If you speak about the treatment for Nipah virus, it can be divided into two types:

Initial Treatment: As there is no treatment available for the Nipah virus, initial treatment might involve clearing its symptoms in simple ways.
Intensive supportive care: Intensive supportive care is necessary in cases of severe respiratory and neurological complications.

Nipah Virus Medicine

As mentioned above, treatment for the Nipah virus is limited to supportive care in many ways, like rest, hydration, and treatment of particular symptoms when they occur. Here are some of the medications used to treat the Nipah virus symptoms :

Acetaminophen and/or oribuprofen are used. Ibuprofen is used to relieve pain and fevers.
Dimenhydrinate and/or ondansetron to regulate nausea and vomiting.
Dextromethorphan, ipratropium, dexamethasone, or salbutamol inhalers or nebulizers to treat the respiratory symptoms.
Anti-seizure medications like benzodiazepines, levetiracetam, and/or phenytoin might be helpful to mitigate seizures linked to acute encephalitis and control neurological symptoms.
As there are currently no approved drug treatments for NiV infection, immunotherapeutic treatments called monoclonal antibody therapies have recently been developed for the treatment of NiV infection. However, the monoclonal antibody therapies will be evaluated before their use.
Recently, the monoclonal antibody m102.4 has been under clinical trials and is in use on a case-by-case basis.

However, you can use these medications to treat the symptoms of the Nipah virus only if they are recommended by your doctor.

Nipah Virus Precautions

Nipah virus gets easily spread via close contact with infected animals or humans. To lower the risk of infection, you can follow these professional precautions:

Do not handle bats: Do not handle bats or enter the areas where bats exist.
Have proper food safety: Make sure that you can cook meat and other animal products properly before you consume them. This will eliminate the potential pathogens. Eat only clean and well-cooked homemade food until the symptoms settle down. Do not drink the unpasteurized juices. Eat only homemade, fresh food, which is a light and warm diet.
Have a habit of good hygiene: Regularly wash hands using soap and water, particularly after handling animals or caring for sick individuals.
Isolation and quarantine: At the time of outbreaks, isolate and quarantine the affected patients to prevent further transmission of the virus.
Make use of personal protective equipment (PPE): Personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks, gloves, and gowns helps prevent the transmission of viruses among healthcare workers when they care for Nipah virus patients. So, healthcare providers could use this equipment.
If you hear about the Nipah virus outbreak found in your region, then preferably wear a mask while travelling in public places to avoid person-to-person transmission.

Nipah Virus Life Cycle

Nipah virus could exist for 3 days in a few fruit juices or mango fruits. The Nipah virus has a half-life of 18 hours in fruit bat urine. NiV is stable in the environment and remains viable at 70 °C for one hour. This virus could be fully inactivated by heating them at 100 °C for more than 15 minutes. However, the viability of the virus in its natural environment might differ depending on various conditions. NiV could be easily inactivated by detergents, soaps, and commercially available disinfectants like sodium hypochlorite.

Conclusion

Nipah virus infection is a communicable zoonotic disease that was first discovered in domestic pigs in Malaysia and Singapore during the years 1998 and 1999. Many reasons, like close contact with the infected animals, contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons or animals, etc., can cause this Nipah virus infection. Nipah virus is characterised by symptoms like headache, fever, breathing difficulties, cough, sore throat, diarrhoea, etc. Many diagnosis methods, like real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), etc., are used to find out the Nipah virus infection. There is no medication to treat the Nipah virus infection, but its symptoms can be treated with the medications prescribed by the doctor. Some precautions, like not handling bats, maintaining proper food safety, practising good hygiene habits, isolation, quarantine, etc., have to be followed to protect yourself from the Nipah virus infection.

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FAQ

Is Nipah virus infection a communicable disease?

Nipah virus infection is a communicable zoonotic illness; it is transmitted from animals to people, and it is also transmitted through contaminated food or directly from person to person. In general, communicable diseases are considered to be illnesses that get transmitted from person to person, from an animal to a person, or through food.

Does Nipah spread through the air?

Yes, Nipah gets spread through the air, so infected people could spread this to other people. Human-to-human transmission of the contagious Nipah virus happens when a health worker comes into contact with the infected person's body secretions like blood, urine, and respiratory droplets.

Which animals act as the carriers of the Nipah virus?

The Nipah virus is carried by flying foxes, also called fruit bats. In 1999, the Nipah virus was first seen following an outbreak in pigs and people in Malaysia and Singapore. Above, one hundred people died because of this, and three hundred people got sick because of this virus.

Can people survive after being affected by the Nipah virus?

Above 20% of people who live after acute encephalitis get subsequent neurological effects, like personality changes and repeated convulsions. Fatality is seen in between 40% and 75% of cases, with the percentage according to the outbreak and the local authorities' surveillance capacity.

Has anyone recovered from the Nipah virus?

Yes, some people have survived the Nipah virus. But more than 40% to 75% of people who get the Nipah virus infection die out of it. The people's survival rate from the Nipah virus differs based on the country's ability to diagnose and manage the virus.

Can the Nipah virus live in the air?

Yes, the virus spreads in the air through respiratory droplets. This means that when a person coughs or sneezes, the Nipah virus can spread through the air. So, it is an airborne infection.

Which fruit causes the Nipah virus?

All fruits eaten in an unhygienic way might serve as the primary carriers of the Nipah virus infection, which may spread through their excretions. So, people must eat the uncontaminated fruits in a hygienic way. In Malappuram, Kerala, a 14-year-old boy got infected with the Nipah virus after he consumed a contaminated hog plum fruit. So, public awareness is necessary, as the fatality rate due to this virus is high.

How does the Nipah virus affect the immune system?

The NIPAH virus will weaken the immune system, making it hard for the body to make a response. The primary defensive response of the immune system is to find, recognise, and get into the viral proteins. This serves as a double-edged sword, because this is the simplest way for the cell to become infected. The immune cells (B-cells) get attached to the Nipah virus and generate IgG or IgM antibodies to take up the other immune cells to neutralise the infection.