Taiwan Prepares Category 5 Notifiable Disease for Nipah Virus, What Does It Mean?

JAKARTA - The Taiwan Center for Disease Control (CDC) plans to include Nipah virus infection in the category 5 notifiable disease or Category 5 infectious disease after the latest outbreak in India.

The CDC official said on January 16 that his party had released a proposal to change the rules for controlling infectious diseases which include classifying the Nipah virus as a category 5 notifiable disease. The proposal is now entering a 60-day public review period before it is officially implemented.

Since 2018, the Nipah virus has only been under priority surveillance in Taiwan. Globally, more than 750 cases have been reported since the virus was first identified in 1998. The death rate is also quite high, reaching around 58 percent.

In the Taiwan classification system, category 5 notifiable diseases refer to new or rare infections that pose a high risk to public health. Diseases in this category must be immediately reported and handled with special control measures.

"India is currently trying to control the Nipah virus outbreak in the state of West Bengal after five confirmed cases of infection by January 19," said Deputy Director General of the Taiwan CDC, Lin Ming-cheng, quoted from the Focus Taiwan website.

Despite plans to raise the disease status, Taiwan still maintains a Level 2 or 'yellow' travel alert for the state of Kerala in southwest India, which has long been known as an endemic area of Nipah. Until now, no special warnings have been imposed for West Bengal or other regions in India.

In Taiwan's four-level travel alert system, Level 2 status urges travelers to increase vigilance and take preventive measures, but does not prohibit travel.

"Travel warnings will be updated according to the development of the situation. If there is transmission in the community, the level of warning can be raised. However, if the case is limited to health facilities, travelers are advised to avoid hospitals in the affected areas," said Lin.

He also reminded that fruit-eating bats are a natural source of the Nipah virus. Contaminated coconut water or urine from bats can be a source of transmission. Tourists visiting India are asked to avoid raw or unheated food and drinks, especially fresh coconut water.

According to the CDC, the Nipah virus can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected bats or other animals such as pigs. Transmission can also occur through respiratory droplets or direct contact with body fluids. Several cases of limited-scale human-to-human transmission have also been reported.

Symptoms of Nipah virus infection are very diverse, ranging from asymptomatic, acute respiratory distress, to brain inflammation (encephalitis) which can be fatal.