Nipah virus
Definition
A zoonotic paramyxovirus of the genus Henipavirus, primarily transmitted from fruit bats (pteropid bats) to humans and pigs, causing Nipah virus disease characterized by fever, encephalitis, and high fatality rates up to 75%.
First identified in 1998-1999 during an outbreak in Malaysia among pig farmers, leading to the culling of hundreds of thousands of pigs.
A bat-borne virus that spreads through contaminated food, direct contact with infected animals, or human-to-human transmission in close settings, with no specific treatment or vaccine widely available.
Examples
After reading about the Nipah virus, he started eyeing every fruit bat at the zoo with newfound suspicion.
The epidemiologist's dinner party conversation took a grim turn when someone mentioned Nipah virus over the pineapple skewers.
In her thriller novel, the villain unleashes a Nipah virus plot, but the hero thwarts it with hand sanitizer and common sense.
Surviving a Nipah virus outbreak unscathed, the farmer credited his lucky charm—a rubber pig that never got sick.