The Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has disclosed that, for the first time in Bangladesh, the Nipah virus has been detected in breast milk of a mother.
During a discussion titled "Spread and Risks of the Nipah Virus" held at the IEDCR on Sunday, Professor Tahmina Shirin, Director of the IEDCR disclosed it.
The IEDCR reported that a total of 10 people have died of the Nipah virus in Bangladesh this year, making it the highest death toll from the infection in the last seven years. At the same time, a total of 14 individuals have been identified as infected with the virus.
Professor Tahmina Shirin, director of the IEDCR informed that the Nipah virus infection is an emerging bat-borne zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through infected animals or contaminated food. “It can also be transmitted directly from person to person through close contact with an infected person. Fruit bats or flying foxes (Pteropus species) are the natural hosts for Nipah virus,” she said.
The IEDCR professor said, “in the absence of a vaccine or licensed treatment available for Nipah virus infection, the only way to reduce or prevent infection in people is by raising awareness of the risk factors and educating about the measures persons can take to reduce exposure to the Nipah virus.”
According to a journal titled "Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease" published on December 27, 2022, a newborn received immunity against the Nipah virus from the mother who survived infection previously.
The mother and her baby girl aged under five in Faridpur were infected with the virus in January 2020 after they drank raw date juice. While the daughter died from the infection, the mother survived but had significant residual neurological impairment.
The woman later conceived in November 2021 and was under thorough antenatal follow-up by the National Nipah surveillance authority. A healthy male baby was born in August 2022.
To prevent the spread of the Nipah virus, Professor Shirin advised against consuming raw date palm sap and not eating half-eaten fruits left exposed in the open.
According to IEDCR data, the first Nipah patient in Bangladesh was identified in Meherpur in 2001.
Since then, a total of 339 individuals have been confirmed to have been infected with the Nipah virus in the country, with 240 fatalities, leading to a mortality rate of 71.44%.
Previously, in 2015, 15 individuals were infected with the Nipah virus in the country, resulting in 11 deaths.
The overall global case fatality rate is estimated at 40% to 75% depending on local capabilities for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management. Although antivirals are in development, there are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics available for the prevention or treatment of Nipah virus infection.
For the surveillance and assessment of the spread and risks associated with the Nipah virus in Bangladesh, a collaborative effort between IEDCR and icddr,b has been conducting Nipah surveillance in eight medical college hospitals in the country since 2006.
