<keyword id="19896018" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala" source="keywords">Kerala</keyword> is on high alert following the death of a 14-year-old boy from <keyword id="20824677" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="malappuram" source="keywords">Malappuram</keyword> district due to the <keyword id="21881533" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nipah-virus" source="keywords">Nipah virus</keyword>. To prevent the situation from escalating further, the central government has stepped in to assist the <keyword id="73082" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kerala-government" source="Orion">Kerala government</keyword> and safeguard the public. A zoonotic illness, the <keyword id="20197512" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nipah" source="keywords">Nipah</keyword> virus,infection is transmitted from animals like pigs and fruit bats to humans, as well as through contaminated food and contact with an infected person. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has even flagged the virus as a priority pathogen due to its epidemic potential. The boy from Malappuram showed symptoms of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) and was initially treated in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health centre Kozhikode. The National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune subsequently confirmed the <keyword id="22489646" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nipah-virus-infection" source="keywords">Nipah virus infection</keyword>. In response, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) sent monoclonal antibodies for patient management and a mobile Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory for testing additional samples from contacts. Unfortunately, the boy's “poor general condition” prevented the administration of the antibodies. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Health ministry advises Kerala to take four immediate public health measures" comment="subhead" text="Health ministry advises Kerala to take four immediate public health measures"><keyword id="19896140" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-ministry" source="keywords">Health ministry</keyword> advises Kerala to take four immediate public health measures</cmsannotation> The 14-year-old’s demise in Malappuram has triggered an urgent public health response from the Centre, with the Union health ministry advising Kerala to take four immediate health measures to ensure public safety. They are as follows: 1. Active Case Search: The state government should begin active case searches within the family of the confirmed case, the neighbourhood and other areas with similar topography to identify any additional cases. This proactive approach will help in early detection and containment. 2. Contact Tracing: The state should trace contacts the identified case had over the past 12 days. This includes monitoring these contacts for symptoms and taking steps to prevent further spread of the virus. Detailed records of interactions and movements of the infected individual will be crucial. 3. Quarantine and Isolation: Contacts of the confirmed case should be strictly quarantined, and any suspects showing symptoms should be isolated. This measure is essential to contain the virus and prevent it from spreading within the community. 4. Sample Collection and Testing: Samples from potential contacts and suspects should be collected and transported for laboratory testing. This ensures early detection and allows for a swift response to any new cases that may arise. To assist the Kerala government, a multi-member joint outbreak response team from the National ‘<keyword id="15536661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="One-Health-Mission" source="Orion">One Health Mission</keyword>’ will be deployed. This team will help investigate the case, identify epidemiological linkages and provide technical support. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111771996" title="What is the Chandipura virus that has already claimed the lives of 6 children in Gujarat?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George has confirmed that an additional 60 people have been identified as high-risk for contracting the disease. Amid this situation, residents in vulnerable areas have been instructed to take precautions, such as wearing masks in public and avoiding hospital visits. The Nipah virus has been linked to dozens of deaths in Kerala since its first report in 2018. The state has faced multiple outbreaks, with the most recent occurring in 2023 in Kozhikode district.

Nipah virus: Health Ministry instructs Kerala to enforce four immediate safety measures following 14-year-old's death

The <keyword id="28504" type="General" weightage="70" keywordseo="kerala" source="Orion">Kerala</keyword> government has strengthened measures to prevent the spread of Nipah infection after the brain-damaging virus killed two people and infected two others in this north Kerala district. Considering the serious nature of the disease, the <keyword id="6354399" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kozhikode" source="Orion">Kozhikode</keyword> administration declared seven village panchayats as containment zones. In a Facebook post, Kozhikode District Collector A Geetha said that the panchayats declared as containment zones included Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara. No travel in or out of these containment zones will be allowed till further notice. The police have been asked to cordon off these areas, she said on Tuesday. Only stores selling essential commodities and medical supplies will be allowed to function. Stores selling essential goods will be allowed to function from 7 am to 5 pm. No time bar has been given for pharmacies and health centres. Local self-government institutions and village offices can function with minimum staff. Banks, other government or quasi-government institutions, educational institutions, and anganwadis should not operate, the collector said. The public should use online services and avoid going to local self-government institutions, she said. Buses or vehicles plying on national highways through the containment zones should not stop in the affected areas. Directions regarding this should be issued by the regional transport officer and district transport officer, the post said. All should maintain social distancing and use masks and sanitizer in the containment zones, it said. Soon after the <keyword id="6544034" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nipah-virus" source="Orion">Nipah virus</keyword> infection was confirmed in Kozhikode district, Chief Minister <keyword id="6356705" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pinarayi-vijayan" source="Orion">Pinarayi Vijayan</keyword> had urged people not to panic and to take precaution instead. "Everyone should strictly follow the instructions of the health department and the police and fully cooperate with the restrictions," he had said. Talking to reporters in Kozhikode on Tuesday, state Health Minister Veena George said one of the people who was infected with the virus was a nine-year-old boy. George said out of the five samples, three have tested positive. "The samples of the person who died on Monday and two others under treatment, including the nine-year-old boy, have tested positive," she said. The death of the first person, on August 30, was initially considered a death due to the comorbidity of liver cirrhosis, but his son, the nine-year-old boy who is already in ICU, and his 24-year-old brother-in-law are the two positive cases that were detected on Tuesday.

Kerala govt strengthens measures to prevent spread of Nipah virus

A Central team has been rushed to Kerala after a 12-year-old boy died due to <keyword id="6544034" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nipah-virus" source="Orion">Nipah virus</keyword> infection in the state's <keyword id="908520" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kozhikode-district" source="Orion">Kozhikode district</keyword>, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday. The samples of the boy, which were sent to the <keyword id="8720877" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pune-national-institute-of-virology" source="Orion">Pune National Institute of Virology</keyword>, confirmed the presence of Nipah virus. The <keyword id="6357307" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="central-government" source="Orion">Central Government</keyword> has rushed a team of National Centre for Disease Control to the state, which will be reaching on Sunday. The team will provide technical support to the state, the ministry said. Some immediate public health measures have been advised by the Centre which include active case search in the family, families, village and areas with similar topography especially in <keyword id="69399" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="malappuram" source="Orion">Malappuram</keyword>. The measures also include active contact tracing for any contacts in the past 12 days, strict quarantine of the contacts and isolation of any suspects and collection and transportation of samples for lab testing, the ministry said. Nipah virus is spread by saliva of the fruit bats. In 2018 also, there was a Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/pramod-bhagat-wins-indias-first-badminton-gold-in-paralympics/articleshow/85926279.cms">Pramod Bhagat wins India's first badminton gold in Paralympics</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/secret-funeral-plans-for-britains-queen-elizabeth-ii-leaked/articleshow/85919081.cms">Secret funeral plans for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II leaked</a>

Nipah virus: Central government team rushes to Kerala after a 12-year-old boy dies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Researchers have identified a virus that jumped from animals to humans in China.</li><li>A total of 35 human infections were recorded over two and a half years.</li></ul>Scientists in China have identified a virus that has infected humans for the first time, but the disease is unlikely to spread from person to person, based on the current evidence. The first person to fall ill with the newfound Langya henipavirus, or LayV, was a woman in Shandong province in late 2018, according to a peer-reviewed correspondence published in the <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2202705">New England Journal of Medicine</a>.The patient was a farmer with a history of animal exposure, so health officials suspected a possibility of disease spillover from an animal host. Testing later revealed that the virus was previously unseen in humans and may have originated in shrews.The woman's symptoms included fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, cough, and nausea, according to the report. Thirty-four more people — primarily farmers in Shandong and the neighboring Henan province — reported similar symptoms and tested positive for LayV between December 2018 and May 2021.Based on the information available, Langya virus poses a very low risk to the general population, infectious disease doctor Monica Gandhi told Insider. No one has died of Langya virus infection to date, and researchers have not found any evidence of human-to-human transmission."People should not be frightened about this spreading," said Gandhi, a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco who was not associated with the NEJM report. "I think everyone is hyper-alert to new viruses, but I don't think this one is going to be a major threat." <h2>The virus was detected in wild shrews</h2>Researchers tested 25 small wild animal species for the Langya virus and found it was "predominantly detected" in shrews, according to the report. The authors concluded that the small, mole-like mammals may be a natural host for the virus.However, the connection between humans and shrews remains to be investigated, Gandhi said. It is not yet clear if something changed to push humans closer to shrews, or vice versa, or if another animal may be involved in the chain of transmission.Humans appear to be a dead end for the virus, but researchers said their sample was too small to be certain. They examined close contacts of nine patients infected with LayV and found no evidence of human-to-human transmission, and the people who got sick reported no common sources of exposure.<h2>Related viruses have caused small outbreaks with some fatalities</h2>The Langya virus is related to — but genetically distinct from — the Nipah and Hendra viruses, which have both caused fatal infections in humans. However, people who got sick with Langya virus had milder symptoms in comparison, Gandhi noted.All of the 26 patients found to be infected with LayV alone reported fevers. About half of them experienced fatigue, decreased white blood cell count, and cough. A few people experienced more severe symptoms, such as impaired kidney and liver function.People infected with previous henipaviruses in the past experienced similar fevers and flu-like symptoms, often with signs of respiratory illness. Fatality rates for Nipah and Hendra viruses range <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/nipah/about/index.html">between 40 and 70%,</a> according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Still, Nipah and Hendra viruses have caused relatively small outbreaks compared to COVID-19 — only seven human cases of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/hendra/index.html">Hendra virus</a> have been reported since 1994, and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/nipah/about/index.html">Nipah virus</a> infected some 300 people across Malaysia and Singapore in 1999.<h2>'We're in a different age now'</h2>Another key difference is that scientists today are better prepared to identify new viruses and make vaccines if necessary, Gandhi said."We're in a different age now, where I hope that we never have to go through what we went through with SARS-CoV-2, and where we can control things better," she said.

A new virus in China sparked panic after jumping from shrews to humans, but experts say it probably isn't as concerning as COVID. Here's why.

WHO says Nipah virus can be a potential epidemic in future. The outbreak of Nipah virus recognized in Bangladesh in 2004 was said to be caused by consuming date palm sap that was exposed to Nipah virus infected fruit bats. Nipah virus outbreaks were noticed in Kerala in India, Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia, and eastern Australia. The recent death of three members in the Nipah virus affected family in Kerala made the Kerala State Health Department to put the state on high alert. The nature of Nipah virus has not been ascertained so far. Symptoms and signs of Nipah virus infection in humans Human beings infected with Nipah virus can show up asymptomatic infection or acute respiratory infection ranging from mild to severe states in addition to encephalitis that can prove fatal. Some of the symptoms developed by persons infected with Nipah virus include headaches, fevers, muscle pain, sore throat and vomiting. They might also feel drowsiness, altered consciousness, and some neurological conditions like acute encephalitis or brain inflammation. In some affected individuals, Nipah virus can lead to severe kind of respiratory problems and acute respiratory distress. In some other serious cases of Nipah virus infection, the individuals might experience severe respiratory difficulties, atypical pneumonia, and seizures. Such conditions can also progress to the level of coma within a period of 24 to 48 hours. Convulsions and pulmonary signs can also be noticed in some infected persons. The incubation period of this virus is found to be between 4 to 14 days and in some cases, this can even drag on for as long as 45 days. The symptoms of Nipah virus are often confused with Japanese encephalitis. The outbreak of Nipah virus in Malaysia led to the death of more than 50% of the cases infected with Nipah virus. How to treat Nipah virus As on date, there are no drugs or vaccines available with us to treat Nipah virus infection. In fact, the WHO has identified Nipah virus as a priority disease for their Research and Development. Severe cases of Nipah virus infections are to be treated to prevent severe respiratory disorders and neurological complications including seizures. Since the vaccine to treat this deadly virus is absent today, prevention is the best way to stop the infection and spread of Nipah virus. Appropriate detergents must be used for a thorough cleaning of the infected pigs if any instances of Nipah virus outbreak is noted in animals, the farm must be immediately quarantined. In order to reduce the risk of Nipah virus outbreak the WHO suggests culling of infected animals, burial or incineration of the carcasses such steps can minimize the risk of transmission of Nipah virus to people. Nipha virus Treatment Treatment of Nipah virus is highly limited. Only supportive care can be given to the infected persons. There is no specific treatment plan available to the medical industry today. Extreme precautions are necessary for the healthcare workers dealing with Nipah virus infected persons and while handling the laboratory samples.

All you need to know about Nipah Virus Symptoms and Treatment

<ul><li>Kerala battles with the sudden outbreak of <keyword id="6544034" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nipah-virus" source="Orion">Nipah virus</keyword> while combating COVID-19 in the state.</li><li>The incubation period of this virus is two weeks and the fatality rate is 40-80%, as per WHO.</li><li>The transmitter of the disease can be a pig, a fruit bat, dogs, goats, cats or even horses.</li></ul>As Kerala is already fighting a tough battle with COVID-19 cases, accounting for more than 50% of daily cases in India, a sudden outbreak of Nipah virus has created more tension in the state. A 12 year-old boy in Kozhikode district succumbed to Nipah virus on September 7. The boy had symptoms of encephalitis (swollen brain) and myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscles). His samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune. A team from the Centre was rushed to Kerala to help in curbing the infection. 11 more people in the Kozhikode district have shown symptoms of the Nipah virus, as per media reports. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Is Nipah virus and COVID-19 same?" comment="subhead" text="Is Nipah virus and COVID-19 same?">Is Nipah virus and COVID-19 same?</cmsannotation> Both viruses appear to be similar, but are quite different. Nipah virus is a zoonotic infection, which means these infections are transmitted from animals to humans or vice versa. The transmitter of the disease can be a pig, a fruit bat, dogs, goats, cats or even horses. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is the Nipah virus?" comment="subhead" text="What is the Nipah virus?">What is the Nipah virus?</cmsannotation> Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus which can be transmitted from one animal to another or humans through contaminated food or directly between people and is caused by fruit bats. The first outbreak was reported in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998-99 and nearly 300 people were infected with the virus, and around 100 people succumbed to it. In India, it was first detected in Siliguri, West Bengal in 2001, and around 45 people had died from the virus. Kerala also <a href="https://www.who.int/southeastasia/outbreaks-and-emergencies/health-emergency-information-risk-assessment/surveillance-and-risk-assessment/nipah-virus-outbreak-in-kerala#:~:text=Nipah%20Virus%20Outbreak%20in%20Kerala&amp;text=On%2019%20May%202018%2C%20a,as%20of%201%20June%202018.">reported</a> several cases of Nipah virus in 2018. The incubation period of this virus is two weeks and the fatality rate is 40-80%, as per the World Health Organization (WHO). <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Symptoms of Nipah virus" comment="subhead" text="Symptoms of Nipah virus">Symptoms of Nipah virus</cmsannotation> <ul><li>Cough and cold</li><li>Sore throat</li><li>Dizziness and drowsiness</li><li>Muscle pain and body ache</li><li>encephalitis (swollen brain) causing headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, mental confusion and seizures</li><li>myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscles)</li></ul>According to WHO, Nipah virus infection in humans can range from asymptomatic to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Treatment for Nipah virus" comment="subhead" text="Treatment for Nipah virus">Treatment for Nipah virus</cmsannotation> There is no such treatment for this infection. However, one should immediately consult his/her doctor on the development of any of the above symptoms. People are recommended to not to self-medicate as this can be risky and can further deteriorate one’s condition. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Precautions one can take to avoid the virus" comment="subhead" text="Precautions one can take to avoid the virus">Precautions one can take to avoid the virus</cmsannotation> <ul><li>Avoid eating fruits and vegetables, which have fallen on the ground as it may have the chances of containing the virus.</li><li>Stay away from fruit bats and avoid pig feeding.</li><li>Maintain your healthy lifestyle.</li></ul> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/byjus-shopping-spree-continues-this-time-it-is-gradeup/articleshow/86010989.cms">Byju's' shopping spree continues — this time, it is Gradeup</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/sansera-engineering-ipo-most-likely-to-open-on-september-14/articleshow/86012856.cms">Sansera Engineering IPO most likely to open next week</a>

Nipah virus — All you need to know about symptoms, treatment and precautions

A zoonotic virus meaning that which is transmitted from animals to humans, Nipah virus can also be passed on from one human to another through direct contact or through contaminated food. When Nipah virus infects people, it can cause a range of illnesses in infected persons. These symptoms can range from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory difficulties and encephalitis that can be fatal. This virus is also found to cause severe diseases in animals which would bring about big economic losses for those in farming. There have been only a few known Nipah virus outbreaks in Asia. However, the fact that this virus infects a wide range of animals and causes severe illnesses and deaths to humans is a matter of big concern. <keyword id="6546549" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="nipah-virus-history">Nipah virus history</keyword> For the first time, Nipah virus was recognized in 1999 in pig farms located in Malaysia. Since 1999, there had not been other instances of Nipah virus outbreaks in Malaysia. In Bangladesh, Nipah virus was recognized for the first time in 2001. Since then, there had been annual occurrences of Nipah virus outbreaks in that country. Periodical outbreaks of Nipah virus has been noted in eastern India also. The bat species called as Pteropus have been identified as the natural reservoirs for Nipah virus. These species of bats are known to inhabit countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Ghana, Madagascar, and the Philippines. Hence these countries are said to be in the zones carrying a high risk of Nipah virus outbreaks. Nipah virus and domestic animals In 1999, Nipah virus outbreak was noted in pigs and other domestic animals like sheep, goats, cats, dogs and horses. In the case of pigs, this virus is highly contagious. Pigs carrying Nipah virus are found to be highly infectious during the incubation period. This can last from 4 to 14 days. If pigs are noticed with unusual kind of barking cough or spotted with human cases of encephalitis, Nipah virus can be suspected. If this happens, serious measures must be taken to stop the spread of this deadly virus. Why is Nipah virus highly concerning? The fatality rate of Nipah virus infection is found to be 40% to 75%. This rate can, however, differ depending on the capabilities of the medical facilities available locally to treat the affected patients. About 20% of the patients who get out of Nipah virus infections remain with residual neurological effects like personality changes and seizure complaints. How WHO respond to Nipah virus? WHO has been taking several serious measures to stop the outbreak and spread of Nipah virus besides exploring ways to treat the Nipah virus affected people. WHO advice regarding the prevention of Nipah virus outbreak. There is a high risk of transmission of Nipah virus through the medium of fruits and fruit products like raw date palm juices contaminated with the saliva or urine of the infected fruit bats. This can be prevented by washing these products thoroughly before consumption. The other methods of preventing the Nipah virus spread is by peeling off these fruits and discarding the fruits that carry the signs of bat bites.

What Is Nipah Virus, causes, history and everything you should know

<ul><li>After 3 confirmed <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> cases, Kerala fears mass cancellations from tourists </li><li>State tourism minister <keyword id="916683" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kadakampally-Surendran">Kadakampally Surendran</keyword> said the hotels have seen mass cancellations. </li><li>Business Insider India reached out to online travel portals like EaseMyTrip and Cleartrip to assess the impact of Coronavirus on <keyword id="6362858" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala-Tourism">Kerala Tourism</keyword>. They say that the demand remains strong as of now. </li></ul>The outbreak of <keyword id="8637381" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coronavirus-in-Kerala">coronavirus in Kerala</keyword> has cast a shadow on the state’s vibrant tourist inflow. After the state reported<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/806-people-in-kerala-under-observation-for-coronavirus/articleshow/73754612.cms?upcache=2"> three confirmed coronavirus cases</a>, even its border states like <keyword id="6354780" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karnataka">Karnataka</keyword> have turned alert. State tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran said the hotels have seen mass cancellations. “After the Nipah virus and deadly floods, the coronavirus outbreak has also adversely impacted the holiday industry as hotel bookings during February-March have been cancelled widely across the state, ''<a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/world/coronavirus-live-update-death-toll-jumps-to-425-hyundai-suspends-production-line-11580788423653.html"> he said in a press conference</a>. Business Insider India reached out to online travel portals like EaseMyTrip and Cleartrip to assess the impact of Coronavirus on Kerala Tourism. They say that the demand remains strong as of now. Too early to asses, say travel portals Balu Ramachandran, senior vice president of Cleartrip believes that it is very early to say conclusively if there will be any discernible impact on travel with respect to Coronavirus “As of now, we haven't received any updates from airlines for flight cancellations for Kerala. However, we have observed a few cancellations of hotel bookings especially of women travellers,” Prashant Pitti, co-founder and executive director of EaseMyTrip. If any, this will be the third time that the state’s tourism sector has been hit. Two years ago in August 2018, Kerala was swept away by deadly monsoon rains taking as many as 504 lives. In all, 23 million were affected and the losses for the state mounted to $2.7 billion. In June 2019, 17 people were killed in 21 days after catching Nipah virus infection (NiV) that too like Coronavirus has no cure. SEE ALSO : <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/fighting-wuhan-coronavirus-pictures-show-how-china-built-a-1000-bed-hospital-in-10-days/articleshow/73758306.cms">Fighting Wuhan Coronavirus: Pictures show how China built a 1000-bed hospital in 10 days</a>

Kerala’s tourism is infected following three confirmed cases of coronavirus

By Yoshita Singh United Nations, Jul 7 () Global outbreaks like COVID-19 will become more common and increasingly prevalent if countries do not take effective steps to curb zoonotic diseases that pass from animals to humans, a report by the UN has said. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) on Monday launched the report- 'Preventing the next pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission'. "People look back to the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919 and think that such disease outbreaks only happen once in a century," head of scientific assessments at UNEP Maarten Kappelle said. "But that's no longer true. If we don't restore the balance between the natural world and the human one, these outbreaks will become increasingly prevalent," he said. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said that as nations seek to build back better after COVID-19, "we need to fully understand the transmission of zoonoses, the threats they pose to human health and how to minimise the risk of further devastating outbreaks. "COVID-19 is one of the worst zoonotic diseases, but it is not the first. Ebola, SARS, MERS, HIV, Lyme disease, Rift Valley fever and Lassa fever preceded it. In the last century we have seen at least six major outbreaks of novel coronaviruses," she said. Zoonotic diseases are infections that jump between animals and humans, some of which have led to severe illnesses and deaths. The coronavirus outbreak has so far claimed 500,000 lives globally. It originated from a wildlife food market in China's Wuhan city. The Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu in 1996, Nipah virus infection in 1998, Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and the Swine acute diarrhoea syndrome (SADS) in 2016 all emerged in Guangdong, China, the report's data said. She said nations need to invest in ending the over-exploitation of wildlife and other natural resources, farming sustainably, reversing land degradation and protecting ecosystem health. "We were warned that the current pandemic was a matter of if, not when. It is a human failing that we predict but not prepare. Now we must become more proactive to avoid another pandemic and address endemic zoonotic diseases. This means recognising that human health, animal health and planetary health cannot be separated, and planning our responses accordingly," she said. The report said that 60 per cent of the 1,400 microbes known to infect humans originated in animals. It also noted that apart from contagions like COVID-19, neglected zoonotic diseases such as anthrax, bovine tuberculosis, rabies and Japanese encephalitis kill at least two million people every year, mostly in developing countries, which have communities with complex development problems, high dependence on livestock and proximity to wildlife. Zoonotic diseases have plagued societies since Neolithic times and were responsible for some of history's deadliest pandemics, including the bubonic plague of the late Middle Ages and the influenza pandemic of the early twentieth century. UNEP noted that as the world's population edges towards 8 billion, rampant development is putting humans and animals in increasingly close quarters, making it easier for diseases to vault between species. Andersen added that growth in humanity and its activity is largely to blame for increasing frequency of zoonotic diseases. She said meat production has increased by 260 per cent in 50 years, agriculture has intensified, infrastructure expanded and resources extracted at the expense of wild spaces. Dams, irrigation and factory farms are linked to 25 per cent of infectious diseases in humans. Travel, transport and food supply chains have erased borders and distances. Climate change has contributed to the spread of pathogens. "The end result is that people and animals, with the diseases they carry, are closer than ever," she said. Eric Fèvre, a professor of veterinary infectious diseases at the University of Liverpool and a jointly appointed ILRI researcher said, "as we exploit more marginal areas, we are creating opportunities for transmission. There is an increasing risk of seeing bigger epidemics and, eventually, a pandemic of the COVID-19 type as our footprint on the world expands." The report also noted that cost of zoonotic epidemics is steep. The International Monetary Fund has predicted that COVID-19 alone will cause the global economy to contract by 3 per cent this year, wiping out USD 9 trillion in productivity through 2021. But even in the two decades before the pandemic, the World Bank estimated that zoonotic diseases had direct costs of more than USD 100 billion. In order to prevent future outbreaks, countries need a coordinated, science-backed response to emerging zoonotic diseases, says Delia Grace, lead author of the report as well as a veterinary epidemiologist at ILRI and professor of food safety at the UK's Natural Resources Institute. UNEP and ILRI are urging governments to embrace an inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary approach called One Health. It calls on states not only to buttress their animal as well as human healthcare systems, but also to address factors - like environmental degradation and increased demand for meat – that make it easier for diseases to jump species. Co-author of the assessment and UNEP's Chief of Wildlife Doreen Robinson says it's also important for governments to better understand how zoonotic diseases work. That could help the world avoid another pandemic on the scale of COVID-19. YAS RS AKJ RS RS

You Searched For "Nipah virus infection" and got 9 results

Nipah virus: Health Ministry instructs Kerala to enforce four immediate safety measures following 14-year-old's death

Kunal Kambli

Kerala govt strengthens measures to prevent spread of Nipah virus

PTI

Nipah virus: Central government team rushes to Kerala after a 12-year-old boy dies

PTI

A new virus in China sparked panic after jumping from shrews to humans, but experts say it probably isn't as concerning as COVID. Here's why.

Andrea Michelson

All you need to know about Nipah Virus Symptoms and Treatment

BI India Bureau

Nipah virus — All you need to know about symptoms, treatment and precautions

Vaamanaa Sethi

What Is Nipah Virus, causes, history and everything you should know

BI India Bureau

Kerala’s tourism is infected following three confirmed cases of coronavirus

Preeti Soni

Zoonotic diseases need to be curbed to prevent outbreaks like COVID-19: UN

PTI