There is No Medicine and Vaccine, Prevent Nipah Virus with Clean Living Behavior

JAKARTA - So far, there have been no cases of nipah disease in Indonesia, but the Indonesian Children's Doctors Association (IDAI) calls for continued vigilance, because the death rate is high.

The nipah virus has been widely discussed in recent weeks. Five people in the Indian state of West Bengal have tested positive for the infection. The disease is considered deadly, with a death rate from the nipah virus reaching 70 percent.

Quoting the World Health Organization (WHO) website, nipah is one of the zoonosis infectious diseases, usually transmitted from animals to humans, but can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between humans.

The WHO said that nipah virus infection needs to be given serious attention, especially in countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia. This world health agency has even included nipah virus infection in the group of emerging infectious diseases that have the potential to cause global health threats such as pandemics.

Until now, there has been no record of the discovery of the nipah virus in humans in Indonesia. Because there is no specific vaccine and medicine to deal with, IDAI emphasizes that prevention efforts are the most effective way to deal with the nipah virus.

Nipah virus is actually not a new virus. According to WHO records, nipah virus was first discovered in 1998 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia. In 1999, an outbreak was reported in Singapore after importing sick pigs from Malaysia.

However, there have been no new outbreaks reported from Malaysia or Singapore since 1999. Two years later, outbreaks of nipah virus infection were detected in India and Bangladesh. In Bangladesh itself, outbreaks have been reported almost every year since then.

More than 800 cases have been reported globally since 1998. There are five countries of global concern, namely Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.

Fruit-eating bats from the family Pteropodida are considered to be natural hosts of the Nipah virus and are found in various parts of Asia and Australia.

Transmission of the virus to humans can occur through direct contact with infected animals such as bats, pigs, or horses, or animal fluids. In addition, the virus can also spread through the consumption of food or beverages contaminated with the body fluids of infected animals, as well as being close to people infected with the nipah virus.

This virus can also cause severe disease in livestock such as pigs, which can be an intermediate host so that it is ready to be transmitted to humans.

Animals infected with the nipah virus, such as bats and pigs, can both not show symptoms of illness.

The Chairman of the IDAI Central Board Piprim Basarah Yanuarso said that the death rate of the nipah virus is very high, reaching 70 percent. In other words, if there are four people who are infected, three of them are at risk of dying.

"So, this is indeed one of the diseases that is quite serious and there is no medicine or vaccine. Therefore, a clean and healthy lifestyle is one of the main keys to preventing it," he said, in a media briefing held online, Thursday (29/1/2026).

Although it is still necessary to be vigilant, Piprim emphasized that the public does not need to panic excessively.

Meanwhile, the subspecialist pediatric infectious disease specialist Dominicus Husada said that in Indonesia, the nipah virus has not been found in humans, but has been found in bats.

"So, we must remain vigilant. Moreover, the death rate is high, 40-70 percent. Compared to COVID-19, it is only about one percent," he said.

According to Dominicus, the nipah virus can be transmitted to all ages with the most common age being 17-27 years. Transmission in children is indeed rare. Transmission is more common in young adults, especially men.

The transmission of the nipah virus, said Dominicus, has an incubation period or a period between transmission and the appearance of symptoms 4-14 days after exposure to the virus. However, in some cases it has been found with an incubation period of up to 45 days. Meanwhile, the symptoms and signs to be aware of are fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, and pain when swallowing.

Because until now there is no antivirus and medicine, Dominicus said the disease can only be treated supportively.

"So if the symptoms are hot, the treatment is the heat. Or other supporting factors are given such as for fluid needs, oxygen, or temperature control," he said.

There are several preventive measures to be aware of, including not consuming toddy or are directly from the tree. This is because bats can contaminate the are or toddy at night.

Washing and peeling the fruit thoroughly can also be one of the steps to prevent nipah virus. In addition, do not eat fruit found with bat bite marks.