International research effort identifies age, respiratory issues as major factors in Nipah virus spread

In a 14-year study focused on outbreak investigations in Bangladesh, an international team of scientists has gained new insights into the deadly Nipah virus — in particular, that age and respiratory troubles are substantial factors in its transmission.

The bat-borne paramyxovirus is a staple of south and southeast Asia. It lacks treatments or vaccines and bears with it a greater than 70 percent, making it a source of worry among global health officials, who fear what it might do if it evolves into greater transmissibility. Targeted interventions are about the only way to slow its opportunities to spread, and as such, the study’s determination that adult cases with respiratory symptoms transmit the virus to more individuals than other suspected cases might identify the best point for possible intervention.

“The results of this study help identify patients that should be targeted for interventions such as isolation measures if resources are insufficient to cover all suspected Nipah cases,” Birgit Nikolay, first author of the study, said. “This may help better control the spread of the virus during large outbreaks.”

The study was a joint effort from the Institut Pasteur, CNRS, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control And Research (IEDCR), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Results were published in the scientific journal NEJM. Bangladesh was chosen as the site of focus as the country with the largest number of Nipah cases.

Beyond respiratory spread, researchers also found that contacts exposed to bodily fluids were more likely to be infected than others. Spouses and other caregivers were the most at risk. Many gaps in understanding of the virus remain, however.