What Is Nipah Virus?
2. How Is It Transmitted?
Nipah virus, or NiV, is transmitted from infected bats or pigs to humans. Once infected, humans can transmit the virus to others. Like many other animal-to-human viral infections, there appear to be both host animals and carriers that allow the virus to spread to humans. Bats appear to be the natural host for Nipah virus and subsequently pass the virus to pigs.
The most recent outbreaks have spread from living in close contact with virus-infected pigs in Malaysia and Singapore. Infections in India and Bangladesh have been linked to date palm sap that was contaminated by infected bats. Caretakers of infected individuals are also at high risk of infection.
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