Nipah Virus Outbreak
In the summer of 2018 a rare, brain-damaging virus spread in the state of Kerala, India. This possible epidemic threat killed a shocking 17 out of 18 of those who were infected, according to the World Health Organization. The Nipah virus occurs naturally in fruit bats of South and Southeast Asian descent. The virus can be transferred to humans via the animal’s bodily fluids. The scariest part about the possible Nipah epidemic is that there is no vaccine and no cure. Due to this, the Nipah virus was listed by the World Health organization as a high priority for research. According to Dr. Stuart Nichol, who is the current head of viral special pathogens branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the existing treatment options are extremely underwhelming and would are insufficient to treat even a smaller outbreak, such as this one. Dr. Steve Luby commented of the spread of the Nipah virus, “There’s a market failure for protecting people from this. It’s not like treating baldness or breast cancer, where wealthy people will pay for your product. There’s no big customer here, no incentive, until it escalates.”
Hypothetically, if the virus were to spread it would first reach Dubai because this is the place where many Indians find employment. Additionally, a non-profit research group, EcoHealth Alliance, gathered and analyzed flight patterns of Indian citizens who could possibly be infected and affirmed that Nipah would first spread to Dubai. The study also concluded that an infected traveler would likely first arrive at John F. Kennedy Airport. The president of the EcoHealth group explained, “The goal of mapping scenarios out is not to create panic. It’s to get countries ready. This virus will get better and better at spreading — that’s what we’re up against. We need to be ahead of the curve.”
The virus first appeared in 1998 among pig farmers in Malaysia, killing 100 people and over one million pigs. India’s National Centre for Disease Control claims that’s the current outbreak most likely started with people drawing water from a bat-infested well and ingesting it. W.H.O. has not recommended any trade or travel restrictions on Kerala and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has announced a $25 million award to BioSciences and Emergent BioSolutions to create a Nipah vaccine which is expected to take five years.