After much speculation, the Kerala government has confirmed Nipah virus in a 23-year-old man who had been admitted to a private hospital in Ernakulam on May 30. The confirmation came in from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune on 4 June.
After 2018’s Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, that killed 17 people, scientists believe they may have stumbled on to a cure.
Nipah is an emerging zoonotic disease reported across South-East Asia region, with a fatality rate between 40 to 75 percent, according to the World Health Organisation.
An experimental drug given to African green monkeys protected them from Nipah virus. The antiviral drug, remdesivir, made by Gilead Sciences, is also being tested against the Ebola virus during the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.