The Nipah virus has again come under global focus after fresh infections and deaths were reported in India, prompting health authorities to closely monitor the situation.
Officials say Nipah is not as contagious as COVID, but its danger lies elsewhere. The virus has one of the highest fatality rates recorded among known infectious diseases.
Health experts explain that Nipah is an RNA virus from the Paramyxoviridae family and belongs to the Henipavirus group. The same group includes the Hendra virus. COVID, on the other hand, is caused by a coronavirus and mainly targets the respiratory system.
Doctors say Nipah infection usually starts with flu like symptoms. Patients develop high fever, intense headaches, body aches, and sore throat. In more serious cases, the virus attacks the brain. This can lead to confusion, seizures, breathing problems, and loss of consciousness. In some patients, coma can develop within one to two days.
Those who survive do not always recover fully. Medical reports show that some patients continue to suffer from neurological problems, including personality changes and recurring seizures.
COVID presents differently. Most patients experience fever, cough, and breathing difficulty. Many cases remain mild, though severe infections can cause pneumonia and, in some cases, death.
Experts say Nipah does not spread easily. It does not move efficiently through the air and usually requires close contact with bodily fluids. Fruit bats are the natural carriers of the virus. Humans can become infected through contact with infected animals, such as pigs, or by consuming food contaminated with bat saliva or urine.
Human to human transmission has also been recorded, mainly through direct contact with blood or saliva.
COVID spreads much faster. It passes mainly through respiratory droplets and close contact, which is why outbreaks can escalate quickly.
What worries health officials most is Nipah’s fatality rate. Past outbreaks have shown death rates ranging from 40 percent to as high as 75 percent, depending on how quickly patients receive care. This is far higher than what has been seen with COVID.
Health authorities say early detection and strict containment remain critical to prevent wider spread.
