Transmission of Nipah Virus — 14 Years of Investigations in Bangladesh

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 380; no. 19; pp. 1804 - 1814
• Main Authors: Nikolay, Birgit, Salje, Henrik, Hossain, M. Jahangir, Khan, A.K.M. Dawlat, Sazzad, Hossain M.S, Rahman, Mahmudur, Daszak, Peter, Ströher, Ute, Pulliam, Juliet R.C, Kilpatrick, A. Marm, Nichol, Stuart T, Klena, John D, Sultana, Sharmin, Afroj, Sayma, Luby, Stephen P, Cauchemez, Simon, Gurley, Emily S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Massachusetts Medical Society 09.05.2019
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Animals; Bangladesh; Bangladesh - epidemiology; Binomial distribution; Body Fluids; Body Fluids - virology; Child; Contact Tracing; Disease transmission; Disease Transmission, Infectious; Disease Transmission, Infectious - prevention & control; Epidemics; Fatalities; Female; Health surveillance; Henipavirus Infections; Henipavirus Infections - epidemiology; Henipavirus Infections - prevention & control; Henipavirus Infections - transmission; Hospitals; Humans; Hypotheses; Illnesses; Infections; Infectious diseases; Infectivity; Life Sciences; Male; Mathematics; Medical laboratories; Middle Aged; Nipah Virus; Outbreaks; Patients; Public health; Respiration; Risk Factors; Statistics; Young Adult; Zoonoses; Zoonoses - transmission; Bangladesh
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1805376

Nipah virus is a highly virulent zoonotic pathogen. In this report from Bangladesh, which included 40% of the world’s known cases, the risk factors for human-to-human transmission were evaluated. No asymptomatic cases were identified. Increased respiratory symptoms in the patient and prolonged close contact from caregivers were associated with secondary transmission.