There is a low risk of the deadly Nipah virus spreading from India, the World Health Organization said on Friday, adding that it did not recommend travel or trade curbs after two infections reported by the South Asian nation.
Axar.az informs “The WHO considers the risk of further spread of infection from these two cases is low,” the agency told Reuters in an email on Friday, adding that India had the capacity to contain such outbreaks.
“There is no evidence yet of increased human to human transmission,” it said, adding that it has coordinated with Indian health authorities.
Carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, the virus can cause fever and brain inflammation. It has a fatality rate ranging from 40 percent to 75 percent, with no cure, though vaccines in development are still being tested.
It spreads to humans from infected bats, or fruit they contaminate, but person-to-person transmission is not easy as it typically requires prolonged contact with those infected.
Small outbreaks are not unusual and virologists say the risk to the general population remains low.
The source of infection was not yet fully understood, said the WHO. It classifies Nipah as a priority pathogen because of a lack of licensed vaccines or treatments, a high fatality rate, and a fear it could mutate into a more transmissible variant.