Back then, the Philippine government was slow to tighten borders, and Chinese nationals became the country’s first COVID-19 cases. Since its initial detection in China in December 2019, the virus has caused over 66,000 deaths in the Philippines.
The Nipah virus
The World Health Organization said that the Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus that can be transmitted from animals to humans, through contaminated food, or directly from human to human.
It has an estimated case fatality rate 40% to 75% and has no approved treatment or vaccine available for either animals or people.
Primary treatment for humans is supportive care, including rest, hydration and management of other symptoms.
The first signs of the viral disease include fever, headache, cough, sore throat and difficulty breathing, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These symptoms can appear four to 14 days after infection.
Later in the infection, some people may experience brain swelling (encephalitis), with severe symptoms including confusion, drowsiness and seizures. In some cases, patients can fall into a coma within 24 to 48 hours.
The virus can be transmitted through direct contact with infected animals such as bats or pigs, by consuming food or drinks contaminated with infected animals’ bodily fluids, including fruit or raw date palm sap, and through close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
Preventive measures include regular handwashing and avoiding contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected individuals, including by wearing properly fitted face masks.
In the Philippines
Meanwhile, the Department of Health said it is prepared for the possible entry of the Nipah virus into the Philippines, adding that the virus is not new to the country.
DOH spokesperson Albert Domingo said that Sultan Kudarat had recorded cases in 2014, which were linked to the consumption of horse meat and had contact with infected individuals.
He added that the DOH also released updated guidelines on responding to the virus in 2023.
Infectious disease expert Rontgene Solante said the Nipah virus is not highly transmissible, noting that symptoms generally need to be “very severe” for a person to spread the virus.
However, the WHO warned that the initial symptoms are “nonspecific,” and that diagnosis is “often not suspected at the time of presentation.”
With the outbreak in India, Solante said that the government “should be doing screening for people who are coming from West Bengal.”
“Probably the Bureau of Quarantine will also be doing some health checks during [the] arrival of tourists, particularly from this particular area,” he said.
“Every tourist coming from India or [those] specifically from India — they will have to be screened, spot checking of temperature, and then monitoring them for the first onset of symptoms. They should be telling the authorities [about their symptoms] just like how we did before with COVID-19,” Solante added.
Authorities in Taiwan, Nepal, Vietnam and Hong Kong have tightened security at airports and border crossings following reports of a Nipah virus outbreak in India.
