New Delhi: With the return of the Nipah infection in Kerala, the need for awareness about zoonotic diseases has increased, especially in view of the spread of misinformation about these diseases. Doctors say that the symptoms of Nipah infection, swine flu and bird flu are similar, but there are also differences in how the diseases impact people and also in their treatment.
"The basic difference between the Nipah virus and swine flu is that for swine flu drugs and vaccines are available whereas for Nipah there is no treatment or antiviral medication," Manoj Sharma, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi told IANS.
According to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the human Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a zoonotic disease which was first recognised in a large outbreak of 276 reported cases in Malaysia and Singapore from September 1998 to May 1999.
In India, during 2001 and 2007 two outbreaks in humans were reported from West Bengal. But in 2018 and 2019, it has affected mainly Kerala.
"The symptoms of Nipah infection are like flu symptoms cough, fever, headache, body ache, cold and then breathlessness later on," said MS Chaudhary, Senior Consultant, Internal medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.
"Usually it is the bats which spread Nipah virus. Either one eats bat-infected food or has close contact with an infected person. So the paramedical staff, very close relatives and all are at risk of contracting the virus," Chaudhary added.
While Nipah is classified as a 'zoonotic' disease those that spread from animals to humans once a human is infected then it is contagious for other people, said Sharma, adding that Nipah virus can also infect pigs.
The Nipah virus affects the respiratory and nervous system and patients may experience respiratory failure or neurological failure. But swine flu usually does not lead to neurological problems, Chaudhary said. Swine flu was pandemic in 2009 worldwide. Since then there have been sporadic occurrences. So swine flu can spread to any region.