An Indian outbreak of Nipah virus, which has no cure and can kill 75 per cent of those it infects, is being ‘closely monitored’ by UK health leaders.
The spike in cases of the virus, which inspired the Hollywood pandemic thriller ‘Contagion’, has already killed two people in the southern state of Kerala.
Five other cases have been detected, including a child of one of the victims, with over 800 people being testing.Â
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) told MailOnline it was ‘closely’ monitoring the outbreak.
Authorities have closed down schools and offices and declared nine villages as containment zones over fears of the brain-damaging virus.
Public transport has also been suspended and neighbouring states are testing travellers from Kerala for potential symptoms.
Nipah is spread by fruit bats who can transmit the virus to people via contact with infected bodily fluids like saliva or urine left on fruit.
These people can then go on to infect others by close contact including potential airborne transmission through coughing and sneezing.
Nipah can kill by causing both severe respiratory problems and fatal brain swelling.
No vaccine or medication work against the virus, with treatment focussed on helping patients survive the symptoms while the body fights off the infection.
A UKHSA spokesperson said: ‘UKHSA’s emerging infections and zoonoses team continue to monitor the Nipah outbreak closely though our epidemic intelligence processes.’
‘Nipah virus has not been detected in the UK and the risk of importation into the UK is very low.’
Professor Miles Carroll, an expert in emerging viruses at the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford, said they were ‘closely monitoring’ the outbreak.
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