Nipah Disease

Origin of name	From the village, Sungai Nipah, Malaysia, where the virus was isolated from the first human victim
Causal agent	Virus – a paramyxovirus closely related to the Hendra virus
Age group	Weaners, growers and finishers and adults
Clinical signs
Weaners	Mild to severe coughing. High morbidity but low mortality
Sows and boars	Moderate to severe respiratory signs with dyspnoea, convulsions and death. Death can occur within several hours.
Infectivity
	Infection via oral route with incubation period of 14 to 16 days.
	Dogs and flying foxes have been found to be seropositive
Post-mortem Lesions
	Varying degrees of consolidation of the lungs, primarily the diaphragmatic lobes (prominently thickened interlobular septa). Kidneys show signs of congestion. Other organs normal
Diagnosis
	Virus isolation and serological
Treatment
	None, notifiable disease. Inform government vet with any suspicions
Common differentials
	Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia. Haemophilus parasuis in adults
Zoonotic implications
	Very fatal to man, out of 258 people infected 100 died
	Mild to severe clinical signs, characterised by fever and headaches of varying severity. Patients become drowsy and disoriented leading to coma. Majority of patients developing coma die.
	Incubation period in man one to three weeks