Seventh Outbreak of Nipah Virus Reported in Kerala since 2018
Health and Disease
5 min read
The Kerala government has reported a fresh Nipah virus outbreak in the state's Malappuram district. A 42-year-old woman tested positive for the virus in the district. This is the seventh Nipah virus outbreak in the state since the first case was reported in 2018.
Nipah is a zoonotic disease that has very high mortality rates.
Seventh Nipah Outbreak in the State
The Kerala Disaster Management Authority has declared a three-kilometre containment zone around the patient's residence in Valanchery Municipality.
The administration did this after a woman admitted to a private hospital in the Malappuram district was confirmed with a Nipah virus infection after the National Institute of Virology, Pune, confirmed her sample as positive.
The first case of the Nipah outbreak in the state was reported in 2018. The virus outbreak was later reported in 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The disease has a very high mortality rate, with only six people having survived the virus infection. The total number of deaths due to the Nipah virus in the state since 2018 is 22.
Period of outbreak
Most of the viral outbreaks in the state have been reported during the May-September period, which is also the monsoon season.
The virus in Kerala belongs to a Bangladeshi strain, which has a very high mortality rate that can go up to 90%.
About the Nipah Virus
The first case of the Nipah virus in the world was reported in 1999 amongst the pig farmers in the Sungai Nipah village of Malaysia. Because it was first reported from Sungai Nipah village, it was named the Nipah Virus.
The Nipah Virus is a zoonotic disease transmitted from animals to humans.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the virus's natural host is fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified two prominent strains of the Nipah Virus - Malaysian and Bangladeshi.
Bats are not birds; they are mammals (animals).
Transmission of the Virus
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified two strains of the Nipah Virus - Malaysian and Bangladeshi.
The Malaysian strain was found to be transmitted to humans through direct contact with sick pigs or their contaminated tissues.
The Bangladeshi strain, which has been found in Kerala, spreads through the consumption of fruits contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats.
It also spreads from person to person through the sharing of contaminated food from the infected person by others.
A survey conducted by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, and the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, in 2024 found that fruit bats were the source of infection in Kerala.
Symptoms and Treatment of Nipah Virus
Patients infected with the virus display symptoms of acute encephalitis, including fever, headaches, myalgia (muscle pain), sore throat, dizziness, and drowsiness.
The fatality rate is very high, especially in the case of the Bangladeshi strain.
The incubation period of the virus ranges from 4 to 45 days.
There are no drugs or vaccines against the Nipah Virus.
