A team of doctors from the National Institute of Medical Research in India has begun testing bats at the Alipur Zoo in Kolkata to check if they are carrying the deadly Nipah virus.
According to NDTV, the inspection and examination came after two medical workers in West Bengal, eastern India, were infected with the deadly Nipah virus in mid-January.
The two patients are receiving treatment at their workplace in Parasat Hospital, and have been placed in isolation under artificial respirators.
The channel reported: "The National Institute of Medical Research has begun random RT-PCR testing of bats at Alipur Zoo in South Kolkata to check if these animals are carrying the Nipah virus. A medical team collected blood samples and swabs from the bats at the zoo."
The team of experts is scheduled to visit different areas in the state where bat populations are located to collect additional samples.
It is worth noting that the World Health Organization classifies the Nipah virus as one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, because it is resistant to treatment and there is no vaccine against it yet.
The virus causes fever and encephalopathy (damage and death of brain cells), and the mortality rate from it ranges between 40% and 75%. The virus is practically not transmitted through the air and requires direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person.
The virus is known to spread mainly through flying foxes (a type of large bat) and other bats, and humans usually become infected by eating fruit contaminated with the saliva of an infected animal. The virus can also be transmitted to pets.
Indian authorities had previously reported four outbreaks of the disease: in 2001 and 2007 in West Bengal, and in 2018 and 2019 in Kerala.
Source: RT
