Top doctor issues an urgent warning to Australia amid outbreak of ‘world’s deadliest’ virus in India

Australia has been advised to tighten border measures for travellers arriving from India’s West Bengal after a Nipah virus outbreak prompted several Asian countries to introduce new precautions. 

India’s National Centre for Disease Control confirmed on Tuesday that two cases of the virus had been detected in the eastern state of West Bengal since December.

The confirmed outbreak of the world’s deadliest infectious disease, which makes Covid look like a glorified cold, has come as global celebrations for the Lunar New Year are in full swing.

Zoonotic diseases expert Wang Linfa said there was no need for panic, noting that previous Nipah outbreaks in Malaysia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and India had been contained without spreading further.

However, he urged Australian authorities to ensure safeguards are in place for incoming travellers.

‘We should have emails and phone numbers for all passengers arriving from affected areas and make sure we know who comes in,’ he told The Australian.

‘Not everyone who comes in from India needs to be PCR tested. That would be overdoing it. But the contact information must be current in case someone close to (arrivals) becomes positive.

‘Australia has all the tests ready so if you suspect anybody, you test; and if positive, you restrict their movements. We have to assume everyone who gets it gets very sick and dies.’

Health Minister Mark Butler said Australia was monitoring the situation.

‘The Nipah virus is very rare, but it’s also very deadly. There have been two confirmed cases in India,’ Butler told Nine’s Today.

‘The Indian authorities tell us they’ve got that outbreak under control, but nonetheless, we’re monitoring it very, very closely, because this is a very serious virus. It’s never been detected in Australia.

‘It doesn’t spread in the way that COVID-19 or the flu does, through airborne viral particles. It really needs quite close personal contact.’

The Australian Centre for Disease Control has issued advice for travellers heading to affected regions.

‘Given the virus can spread from person to person, people should avoid close contact with anyone suspected of having Nipah, particularly exposure to blood or body fluids,’ an ACDC spokesperson said.

Travellers are also urged to practise good hygiene in areas where the virus may be present, including washing hands after contact with animals, visiting sick people, or spending time in crowded public places.

Thailand’s ministry of public health has implemented health screening for passengers at major airports arriving from West Bengal.

Travellers are being assessed for fever and other Nipah virus symptoms including headache, sore throat, vomiting and muscle pain, and are being issued health ‘beware’ cards advising what to do if they become ill.

Phuket International Airport is also reportedly undergoing increased cleaning due to its direct flight links and Nepal has raised alert levels.

There are three major ways the Nipah virus is transmitted, explained Professor Allen Cheng, an infectious diseases expert at Monash University.

‘The first is via exposure to bats, and in particular via contact with the saliva, urine or faeces of an infected bat. Infections can also occur from contact with other infected animals.

‘The second way it can be transferred is by contaminated foods, particularly date palm products. This means consuming date palm juice or sap that is contaminated with the bodily fluids of infected bats.’

He said the third is human-to-human transmission.

‘Nipah transmission between humans has been reported via close contact, such as caring for a sick person.

‘This can mean, for instance, being infected with bodily secretions contaminated with the virus in households or hospitals. This is thought to be less common than the other transmission pathways.’

Nipah is known for its high fatality rate of 40 to 75 per cent, though this varies between outbreaks depending on how quickly patients are diagnosed and how strong clinical care and surveillance are in affected areas.

In the worst cases, Nipah can be a rapid and brutal illness because it can cause severe inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and acute respiratory failure.

Case descriptions from past outbreaks suggest some patients deteriorate from what looks like a standard viral illness – fever, aches, vomiting – into confusion, extreme drowsiness and seizures, before slipping into a coma within 24 to 48 hours.

Others develop severe breathing problems, including pneumonia and acute respiratory distress, which can be fatal without intensive supportive care.

However, many people who survive make a full recovery, but the virus is feared because severe cases can worsen dramatically, and some survivors are left with long-term neurological damage.

The incubation period is usually four to 14 days, but it can sometimes be much longer. In rare instances, an incubation period of up to 45 days has been reported.

There are currently no approved vaccines or drugs that specifically target Nipah virus infection.

Instead, doctors rely on intensive supportive care, treating the most dangerous respiratory and neurological complications as they arise.