Sindh health dept issues high alert for Nipah virus

KARACHI: With the concerns rising about the virus’s possible transmission to Pakistan, the Sindh health department has issued a high alert in response to growing concerns about the outbreak of the Nipah virus in the province.

The virus is transmitted from animals to humans and is normally known to spread through bats or pigs. However, the virus can also be spread from person to person. The health department issued the alert after an outbreak in India.

Symptoms of the virus include coughing, difficulty in breathing and high fever including fits. The virus can also have neurological effects.

The alert issued by the health department said that one way the virus can spread is through fruits that were infected by bats. The department has advised citizens to carefully wash fruits before eating them.

The medical superintendents, directors, and livestock departments have been advised to exercise caution in a letter sent by Sindh’s director of health to hospitals around the state.

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The virus has no vaccine and quick diagnosis or prevention are the only cures. The health department said that patients can slip into a coma within 3-4 days. The virus can also kill up to 74 percent of the people it infects.

The health department’s guidelines also include instructions to upload data to dashboards, keep patients isolated and get samples to laboratories for analysis on time.

With initial symptoms mirroring common ailments, such as cough, breathing difficulties, high fever, tremors, and mental deterioration, the Nipah virus has become a cause for concern in the region.

According to the health department’s advisory, Nipah is highly contagious, swiftly transferring from animals to humans and then from person to person.

What makes Nipah particularly menacing is the absence of a vaccine, leaving prevention reliant on early detection and prompt treatment.

It is important to remember that Sindh has not yet recorded any instances of the Nipah virus.

However, in neighboring India, the virus has already claimed over 100 lives and infected more than 300 people.