Kolkata: There is a scare of Nipah virus amongst some people in the state, particularly after the incident of a middle-aged contact labourer suffering from an unknown fever for days in a city hospital, was reported.
Whether he is a potential victim of Nipah virus, it is yet to be confirmed by the Beliaghata ID Hospital authorities, where he is admitted with fever and other symptoms common with that of Nipah.
The hospital authorities have been waiting for the report, which is yet to arrive from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
Fruit bats are among the carriers of the virus that is named after Kampung Sungai Nipah, a Malaysian village that first witnessed an outbreak in 1998.
In case of a Nipah virus attack, the mortality is rate is much higher than other diseases. The tests are done only at the National Institute of Virology. The city doctors have advised against consuming half-eaten fruits, after it was found that the first patient in Kerala, may have eaten mangoes that had residues of fruit bat saliva. The doctors have advised people to be cautious while having cut fruits. Dr Himadri Mukherjee said: "Infected humans can develop encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. The symptoms, typically starting about 5 to 14 days after the infection, include high fever, headache, drowsiness and disorientation that can advance to coma and death. Some patients also have respiratory distress."
"It is a deadly disease with high mortality rate. Summer is the season of fruit and this virus spreads from bat eaten fruits. So be cautious," Dr Mukherjee added. Safiqul Haq, a resident Rejinagar in Murshidabad, returned from Bangalore two days ago, after suffering from fever for past twenty days.
He went to Bangalore as a contractual labourer where he caught fever. After his return, he was taken to a hospital in Beldanga and later shifted to Murshidabad Medical College.
After seeing the symptoms, the patient was referred to Beliaghata ID Hospital. He has been kept in an isolated ward of the hospital.
According to the city doctors, fever, headache, vomiting, pain in body, convulsion are the symptoms of the disease. The patients can also faint if they are affected with the virus. The mortality rate is over 70 percent.
Bengal has been put on alert after re-emergence of the virus in India. It may be mentioned that the recent outbreak of Nipah claimed 10 lives in Kerala and has caused a health scare all across. In 2001, as many as 45 people died of Nipah virus in the state. Initially, it was thought to be an unknown fever but NIV later detected the cause of the incident as Nipah virus. A second outbreak was reported in 2007 in Nadia, where 5 people died due to the virus. The virus also spread to our neighbouring country Bangladesh in 2011 and some North Bengal districts were also affected during that period.
This deadly and contagious virus is spread to humans from animals and is carried by fruit bats and pigs. This virus is fatal to humans and mammals. There is also a confusion among the people over eating of fruits. Many have raised questions on how they can identify the fruits that are not pricked by bats.