WHO sees low risk of Nipah virus spreading beyond India

There is a low risk of the deadly Nipah virus spreading from India, the World Health Organization said on Friday, adding that it did not recommend travel or trade curbs after two infections reported by the South Asian nation.



Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are among the Asian locations that tightened airport screening checks this week to guard against such a spread after India confirmed infections.



"The WHO considers the risk of further spread of infection from these two cases is low," the agency told Reuters in an email on Friday, adding that India had the capacity to contain such outbreaks.



"There is no evidence yet of increased human to human transmission," it said, adding that it has coordinated with Indian health authorities.



But it did not rule out further exposure to the virus, which circulates in the bat population in parts of India and neighbouring Bangladesh.



Carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, the virus can cause fever and brain inflammation. It has a fatality rate ranging from 40% to 75%, with no cure, though vaccines in development are still being tested.



It spreads to humans from infected bats, or fruit they contaminate, but person-to-person transmission is not easy as it typically requires prolonged contact with those infected.