The Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Infectious Diseases Association made this statement on 27/1, amidst public concern regarding a new Nipah outbreak in West Bengal, India. From late 2025 until 26/1, the region identified five suspected cases, including two healthcare workers who tested positive. Although local health officials determined this to be a small outbreak, not yet widespread, the news caused anxiety in many countries, including Vietnam.
Addressing these concerns, Doctor Khanh suggests that equating the danger level of Nipah and Covid-19 is inappropriate. He explains that SARS-CoV-2 is a new virus strain, spreading rapidly through respiratory droplets and constantly mutating. In contrast, Nipah is a classic virus, with a completely different invasion mechanism. The likelihood of this pathogen spreading directly from person to person through the air to create a pandemic is almost zero.
Explaining the cluster of cases in India, the expert suggests the source of infection arose from specific contact circumstances. Preliminary epidemiological investigation aligns with this view, as the first infected nurse at Narayana Multispeciality Hospital reportedly drank fresh date palm sap suspected of being contaminated with bat secretions. She then infected a colleague through close contact during patient care, lacking standard protective measures.
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Doctor Truong Huu Khanh. Photo: Quynh Tran |
According to Doctor Khanh, the main host of the virus is fruit bats. The pathogen exists in their saliva and urine. Humans primarily become infected by direct contact with these secretions or by eating fruit bitten by bats. Without very close contact or consumption of contaminated food, the risk of the virus crossing borders and causing an outbreak in Vietnam is very low. Historical Nipah outbreaks have always been localized to a narrow scope and ceased when authorities effectively controlled the animal source.
Concurring with this view, Associate Professor Doctor Le Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases at Cho Ray Hospital, assesses Nipah's infectivity as very limited, entirely different from acute respiratory diseases. However, he warns that Nipah remains a dangerous disease for infected individuals because it directly attacks the brain. The primary clinical manifestation is encephalitis, characterized by symptoms such as high fever, headache, seizures, and rapid progression to coma. The disease has a high mortality rate, potentially over 50%, as the world has yet to discover a specific treatment or preventive vaccine. Current medical interventions are limited to symptomatic treatment and intensive care.
On the morning of 27/1, in response to the outbreak in the neighboring country, the Ministry of Health requested border quarantine and preventive medicine units to enhance surveillance at checkpoints and within communities. To date, Vietnam has not recorded any Nipah cases. The virus was first detected globally in 1999 in Malaysia and Singapore, causing over 100 deaths and necessitating the culling of millions of pigs. Since then, outbreaks have occurred periodically in South Asia, primarily in Bangladesh and India.
To prevent the disease, experts advise people to: cook food thoroughly and boil water. Crucially, avoid eating any fruit showing signs of being bitten, having animal teeth marks, or fruit that has fallen for unknown reasons. When traveling to outbreak areas, it is important to limit contact with wild animals, especially bats.
Le Phuong
