ISLAMABAD: Pakistan faces a low risk of a Nipah virus outbreak but health authorities remain on high alert because the fruit bat, the natural carrier of the deadly virus, is present in the country, officials told a high-level preparedness meeting Thursday.
Senior health officials briefed the meeting, chaired by Federal Health Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Shaikh that although Pakistan has not detected Nipah virus circulation in humans or animals so far, ecological conditions that have enabled outbreaks in neighbouring countries cannot be ignored. The meeting reviewed preparedness across federal and provincial health institutions, border health services, hospitals in the federal capital and surveillance systems, officials said. General Health Dr Abdul Wali Khan told the participants that the fruit bat, which is the primary reservoir of Nipah virus, is found in Pakistan, particularly in northern areas and around forested regions, but there is currently no scientific evidence showing active circulation of the virus among local bat populations or spillover into humans.
“The fruit bat, which is the vector or carrier of the Nipah virus, is present in Pakistan but so far we don’t have evidence of Nipah virus among them or its circulation in the way it has been reported in India, Bangladesh or other countries of Far East Asia,” Dr Wali Khan said while briefing the meeting. Officials from the National Institute of Health informed the meeting that the overall risk of a Nipah outbreak in Pakistan remains low but acknowledged that the possibility cannot be completely ruled out because the animal reservoir exists in the country. They said surveillance systems are active and the situation in the region is being closely monitored. NIH’s Centre for Disease Control officials said Pakistan has the laboratory capacity and testing kits required to diagnose suspected Nipah cases and that samples from any suspected patient can be tested promptly. However, they reminded the meeting that there is currently no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Nipah virus, making early detection, isolation and supportive care the only available tools to reduce mortality. Health Services officials briefed the meeting on measures in place at airports and land crossings. Director Border Health Services Pakistan Dr Mir Hasan Bullo told the meeting that one hundred percent screening of inbound travellers is being carried out, including thermal screening, health declarations and assessment of recent travel history, particularly for passengers arriving from affected or high-risk regions. He said staff have been sensitised to look for fever, respiratory symptoms and neurological signs, and protocols are in place to immediately isolate and refer any suspected case. Health officials also briefed the meeting on the nature of the disease, noting that Nipah virus is a highly fatal zoonotic infection with a case fatality rate that has ranged between 40 to 75 percent in past outbreaks. They said the virus primarily affects the brain and lungs, causing encephalitis, severe respiratory distress, seizures and coma, and can spread from animals to humans and through close human-to-human contact, especially in healthcare and household settings.
