Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly ...Home/Newsroom/Factsheets/Detail/NipahvirusN.BothmaFruitbatsflyabovethecitycentreofAbidjan,Côted'Ivoire.©CreditsNipahvirus30May2018KeyfactsNipahvirusinfectioninhumanscausesarangeofclinicalpresentations,fromasymptomaticinfection(subclinical)toacuterespiratoryinfectionandfatalencephalitis.Thecasefatalityrateisestimatedat40%to75%.Thisratecanvarybyoutbreakdependingonlocalcapabilitiesforepidemiologicalsurveillanceandclinicalmanagement.Nipahviruscanbetransmittedtohumansfromanimals(suchasbatsorpigs),orcontaminatedfoodsandcanalsobetransmitteddirectlyfromhuman-to-human.FruitbatsofthePteropodidaefamilyarethenaturalhostofNipahvirus.Thereisnotreatmentorvaccineavailableforeitherpeopleoranimals.Theprimarytreatmentforhumansissupportivecare.The2018annualreviewoftheWHOR&DBlueprintlistofprioritydiseasesindicatesthatthereisanurgentneedforacceleratedresearchanddevelopmentfortheNipahvirus.  Nipahvirus(NiV)isazoonoticvirus(itistransmittedfromanimalstohumans)andcanalsobetransmittedthroughcontaminatedfoodordirectlybetweenpeople.Ininfectedpeople,itcausesarangeofillnessesfromasymptomatic(subclinical)infectiontoacuterespiratoryillnessandfatalencephalitis.Theviruscanalsocauseseverediseaseinanimalssuchaspigs,resultinginsignificanteconomiclossesforfarmers.  AlthoughNipahvirushascausedonlyafewknownoutbreaksinAsia,itinfectsawiderangeofanimalsandcausesseverediseaseanddeathinpeople,makingitapublichealthconcern.PastOutbreaks Nipahviruswasfirstrecognizedin1999duringanoutbreakamongpigfarmersin,Malaysia.NonewoutbreakshavebeenreportedinMalaysiasince1999. ItwasalsorecognizedinBangladeshin2001,andnearlyannualoutbreakshaveoccurredinthatcountrysince.ThediseasehasalsobeenidentifiedperiodicallyineasternIndia.Otherregionsmaybeatriskforinfection,asevidenceofthevirushasbeenfoundintheknownnaturalreservoir(Pteropusbatspecies)andseveralotherbatspeciesinanumberofcountrie