Ministry Of Health Explains Guidelines For Prevention Of Nipah Virus

ILLUSTRATION OF DOK VOI

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) conveys guidelines for the community to prevent and treat pain due to the Nipah virus that is transmitted from animals to humans.

"The Nipah virus that is spreading in India is not a new virus. This virus has existed for decades," said Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, September 29.

He said the virus is currently spreading again and resulted in two deaths and hundreds of other people being examined in India for further diagnosis.

Although the disease has not been detected in Indonesia, he said, the government has issued early vigilance on the outbreak of the case.

Anticipatory steps that can be taken include not consuming Nira or palm directly from the tree because bats can nominate sweet liquid sap obtained from plant stems, such as sugar cane, sorghum, manpel, or flower mark sap at night.

"Therefore, it needs to be cooked before consumption," he said.

The Ministry of Health also appealed to the public to avoid contact with livestock, such as pigs, horses that may be infected with the Nipah virus.

If forced to make contact, said Nadia, then use personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent direct contact with the body's organs.

"In addition, careful consumption of livestock meat, wash and peel fruit thoroughly throw away fruit that has a bat bite mark," he said.

For health workers and families who care as well as laboratory workers who manage specimens of infected patients, he appealed to them to properly implement infection prevention and control (PPI).

"For slaughtering officers, gloves and personal protection must be used when slaughtering or cutting animals infected with the Nipah virus," he said.

He said animals infected with the Nipah virus should not be consumed and apply clean and healthy living behavior such as cleaning hands regularly, and maintaining the ethics of sneezing.

If you experience symptoms related to Nipah virus disease and interact with infected animals or patients, said Nadia, you will immediately come to the nearest health care facility for examination.

"If diagnosed with Nipah virus disease, doctors or health workers will determine the necessary treatment mechanisms, such as supportive and symptomatic therapy to relieve the symptoms experienced," he said.

He said that until now there has been no specific treatment for Nipah virus disease, but the symptoms can be detected early.

A person infected with the Nipah virus will experience symptoms that vary from asymptomatic to asymptomatic to acute respiratory infection (ARI) to severe encephalitis.

"A person who is infected initially will experience symptoms such as fever, headache, myalgia (mtotalnyer), vomiting, and sore throat," he said.

He said the symptoms can be followed by dizziness, easy sleepiness, decreased consciousness and other neurological signs that show acute encephalitis.

"Some people can also experience atopic pneumonia and severe respiratory tract disorders," he said.

In severe cases, said Nadia, encephalitis and seizures will appear and can continue into a coma in 24-48 hours to death.

"The fatality rate was high due to symptoms that were not typical at the beginning of illness. The death rate was around 40-75 percent," he said.

Until now, he said, there has been no vaccine to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus disease.

Nipah is a zoonotic emerging disease caused by the Nipah virus which is included in the genus Henipavirus and the Paramyxovidee family.

This disease can be transmitted from animals, either wild animals or domestic, with fruit bats belonging to the Pteropodidae family as the virus's host.

In 2008, the Nipah virus had reported 700 cases in humans with 407 deaths in Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

In mid-2021, the Kerala region in India reported an extraordinary incident (KLB) of the Nipah virus after attacking a 12-year-old child who caused death.

On September 12, 2023, similar cases were reported again in the Kerala area and until September 18, 2023, six confirmed cases were reported with two deaths.