Anyone who has seen the movie Contagion probably won’t forget the dramatic scene where Gwyneth Paltrow clings to her kitchen floor as the world battles a virus that causes severe encephalitis. The Nipah virus has no treatment or licensed vaccine, but that could change over time, according to a study recently published in the journal Science and Translational Medicine.
As noted in the study, scientists from several institutions, including the Uniformed Services University, the medical arm of the University of Texas, Galveston, and Mapp Biopharmaceuticals, compared the efficacy of two other monoclonal antibodies opposed to Nipah virus. mobile, the virus will have to bind to the mobile first and then fuse with the mobile membrane. In the past, an antibody (m102. 4) opposed to Hendra virus, a close “cousin” of Nipah that has caused the deaths of horses and humans in Australia, has evolved in the past, targeting the viral glycoprotein needed for its binding. The m102. 4 antibody was directly compared to a new antibody, hu1F5, which targets the virus’s fusion glycoprotein and blocks the virus’s ability to fuse and introduce a motile.
In the study, two teams of six African green monkeys were infected with the Nipah virus. Five days later, one part of the monkeys received m102. 4 and the other part hu1F5. Only one monkey that received m102. 4 survived, while the six monkeys that received hu1F5 survived. That’s a big difference.
Nipah has fatal outbreaks in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, India and Bangladesh. The most recent outbreak occurred in India in 2023, resulting in six confirmed cases and two deaths.
Nipah represents a classic contagion challenge in which animals transmit pathogens to humans. Large fruit bats, commonly known as flying foxes, serve as a reservoir in the wild. In the first outbreak in Malaysia in 1998, bats first inflamed pigs and then other people. The disease was identified when pig farmers in Malaysia contracted severe and fatal encephalitis. The outbreak has led to more than 265 cases of encephalitis and 105 deaths. It then spread to Singapore, affecting slaughterhouse workers.
The outbreak is due to an unfortunate convergence of ecological dots linked to deforestation, which has caused flying foxes to move closer to pigs and humans. The site of the initial outbreak served as a pig farm and orchard, making it a wonderful place. for bats to perch and snuggle next to pigs. Climate relocation may also contribute to the expansion of suitable spaces for Nipah bat hosts.
In addition to human diseases, the outbreak caused significant economic damage following the culling of nearly one million pigs during the outbreak.
Another convergence of ecological dots led to the emergence of the Nipah virus in Bangladesh and India. During the procedure of collecting date palm sap with open boxes (similar to maple syrup harvesting in the United States), bats roosted on the palm trees and infected the boxes. with your urine or saliva. Subsequently, those who drank the raw sap of the palm tree became inflamed with Nipah. Some of the scariest facets of the outbreaks in Central Asia included person-to-person spread and higher death rates.
After being infected with the virus, Americans often lose their fitness within two weeks. Typical symptoms of outbreaks in Malaysia and Singapore included fever, headache, dizziness and vomiting, with more than 50% of them experiencing loss of consciousness. Respiratory symptoms were a rare feature; however, in Bangladesh and India, respiratory symptoms were not unusual and may have simply been accumulating in person-to-person spread, as well as transmission to fitness workers.
We have learned the hard way, with many infectious diseases, including influenza, Covid-19 and Ebola, that diseases do not respect external borders. The fruit bats that can bring Nipah have a wide range, from Pakistan to Australia. It is imaginable for a traveler who visits spaces where bats live to become inflamed and take the disease home. This is just one of the many reasons to avoid pets when traveling.
The results of the study are promising for future long-term testing of the hu1F5 monoclonal antibody in humans. Since Nipah continues to surprise us with periodic outbreaks, it would be wonderful to have a possible new countermeasure to expand our arsenal, just as we will need it. In the next outbreak of Nipah. Es a question of when, if it will happen.