Nipah Outbreak: India's Kerala Races to Contain Deadly Virus

Kerala, India, has shut down schools and offices in an effort to contain the spread of the Nipah virus, which has caused two deaths in the fourth outbreak since 2018. The virus, first identified in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998, can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected bats and pigs. There is no vaccine or cure for the infection, which has a high mortality rate. Symptoms include fever, respiratory distress, headaches, vomiting, and in severe cases, encephalitis and seizures. Previous outbreaks in Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Bangladesh have resulted in numerous fatalities. Kerala is particularly vulnerable to bat viruses, according to a Reuters investigation.