Nipah virus kills 2 people in India, epidemiologist stresses importance of early detection

The Nipah virus has reportedly killed two people in India. The epidemiologist Dr. Dicky Budiman said that this virus has the potential to cause an outbreak due to its pathogenic nature. Photo/Al Bawaba

JAKARTA Nipah virus has reportedly killed two people in India. The epidemiologist Dr. Dicky Budiman said that this virus has the potential to cause an outbreak as it has pathogenic properties.

This condition is exacerbated by the lack of medicines and vaccines. So Dicky thought about it Nipah virus difficult to control as happened in India.

“And what you need to know is that the fatality rate of this Nipah virus can be as high as 75 percent. The probability is that out of four, three could die,” Dicky told MNC Portal on Saturday (September 16, 2023). .

Dicky explained that the Nipah virus was discovered in Malaysia in 1998. This virus was first discovered in an area with pig farms.

SINDOnews photo/infographic

Meanwhile, Dicky explained that Indonesia's detection ability for new infections is still weak. This is because surveillance has neither been sufficient nor improved since the pandemic.

According to Dicky, this will be a weak point or vulnerability for Indonesia as a country rich in nature.