Looking to identify the source of the Nipah virus that has caused one confirmed infection in Kerala this month, scientists are examining if it came from a guava he had eaten (The Indian Express, June 12). The Nipah virus is zoonotic — it spreads primarily between animals and humans — and fruit bats are known to spread it. Fruit bats belong to the Pteropodidae family; those in the Pteropus genus within this family are natural hosts for the Nipah virus. Such bats are widely found in South and South East Asia, and are also known as flying foxes. After last year’s Nipah outbreak in Kerala, which claimed 17 lives, studies by the National Institute of Virology had concluded that the virus was first transmitted from fruit bats identified as Pteropus spp.

Source: Indian Express June 12, 2019 20:03 UTC