Nipah virus outbreak with person-to-person transmission in a district of Bangladesh, 2007

Abstract

In February 2007 an outbreak of Nipah virus (NiV) encephalitis in Thakurgaon District of northwest Bangladesh affected seven people, three of whom died. All subsequent cases developed illness 7-14 days after close physical contact with the index case while he was ill. Cases were more likely than controls to have been in the same room (100% vs. 9.5%, OR undefined, P<0.001) and to have touched him (83% vs. 0%, OR undefined, P<0.001). Although the source of infection for the index case was not identified, 50% of Pteropus bats sampled from near the outbreak area 1 month after the outbreak had antibodies to NiV confirming the presence of the virus in the area. The outbreak was spread by person-to-person transmission. Risk of NiV infection in family caregivers highlights the need for infection control practices to limit transmission of potentially infectious body secretions.

Interferon Signaling Remains Functional during Henipavirus Infection of Human Cell Lines

“…More than 1 million pigs were culled to prevent the spread of the virus, and by May 1999 NiV had caused 265 cases of acute encephalitis in humans resulting in 105 deaths (3,4). There was a reemergence of NiV encephalitis in humans in Bangladesh in 2001 (11), and there have been fatalities in that country almost every year since its emergence (8,9,14,15).…”

Infection of Primary Neurons Mediated by Nipah Virus Envelope Proteins: Role of Host Target Cells in Antiviral Action

“…NiV has been causing outbreaks with increasing frequency and with well-documented human-to-human transmission (8,9,12). Despite the recent development of potential antiviral treatments by us and others, the almost universal failure of in vivo treatments with outstanding in vitro characteristics (5,6,20,24) prompted us to examine potential reasons for this discrepancy.…”

Nipah Virus: A Public Health Concern

“…12,13 Outbreak investigations in Bangladesh have repeatedly implicated person-toperson transmission of NiV, including health care-associated transmission. 14,15 However, to our knowledge, no evidence of NiV transmission to health care workers had been confirmed in Bangladesh. 14 16 In 2012, a total of 12 human caes of NiV infection were reported, 10 (83%) of them died.…”