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Health Minister Mark Butler says Australia is monitoring an outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in India “very, very closely” after the country’s neighbours ramped up their border protections to avoid any further spread.
Two cases of the virus, which has no vaccine and a mortality rate between 40 and 75 per cent, have been confirmed in West Bengal. India’s health ministry said this week authorities have identified and traced 196 close contacts who have all tested negative and shown no symptoms, but Australian authorities remain on high alert.
“The Nipah virus is very rare, but it’s also very deadly,” Butler told Today. “The Indian authorities tell us they’ve got that outbreak under control, but nonetheless we’re monitoring it very, very closely because this is a very serious virus.”
The Nipah virus exists in fruit bats but can spread to other animals – especially pigs – and people.
Flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, or vomiting, usually appear between four days and three weeks after infection. Some people develop pneumonia, and in severe cases, symptoms of encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – including confusion and sensitivity to light.
The virus most often spreads to people through contact with infected animals or their bodily fluids, or by eating fruit that animals have contaminated. It is less commonly spread between people unless there is prolonged contact.
The two confirmed patients in India are health workers – a male who is recovering and expected to be discharged from hospital soon, while a female patient remains in a critical condition, the West Bengal chief district medical officer said on Thursday.
Butler said human-to-human transmission was difficult, and the virus did not spread through airborne particles like COVID-19 or the flu.
“It really needs quite close personal contact, so it’s spread through essentially human fluids,” he said.
Butler said the Nipah virus had never been detected in Australia, and the government was satisfied existing protocols for sick travellers arriving in the country were sufficient, but would consider further measures if recommended.
“We’ve got no advice to change those protocols at this stage, but we’re monitoring on a daily basis. This is, as I said, a very rare virus … but if you do get it, the mortality rate is very, very high – between 40 and 75 per cent. We’re taking it seriously, but we’ve got no advice at this stage to change what are already very clear protocols.”
Those procedures include screening for symptoms of sickness on arrival, a spokesperson from the newly established Australian Centre for Disease Control said.
“Existing protocols also ensure that any identified ill-traveller can be assessed quickly and referred to jurisdictional health authorities, where appropriate,” they said.
“Australia has appropriate diagnostic capacity to detect Nipah virus in reference-level public health laboratories, as well as at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong.”
The CDC spokesperson said those travelling to affected areas should avoid sick people, potentially contaminated animals and fruit, especially raw date-palm sap, and practice good hand-washing hygiene.
“[Travellers] should avoid any contact with fruit bats and pigs, the main carriers of the virus, or eating any fruit that appears to have been partially consumed by an animal. Fruit should be cleaned and peeled before it is eaten,” they said.
They said the organisation worked closely with the Department of Health and Australia’s border agencies to regularly assess the risk of international outbreaks of communicable diseases.
Pakistan is the latest country, joining Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, to tighten screening at airports.
The virus was first detected in humans in 1998, and outbreaks have since occurred in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
With Reuters
Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.