A Nipah virus outbreak has spread across India and several other Asian countries, as the total death toll has reached more than 100 amid nearly 300 cases, according to reports.
In India’s Kerala state, some schools and offices were forced to close as local authorities imposed restrictions to mitigate or stop the spread of the deadly pathogen. While there have been related outbreaks in previous years, the current one centers in the southern state of Kerala, wherein six people are infected with the bat-borne Nipah virus. Two of these people have already died since the pathogen emerged in late August. Aside from India, there have been reports of Nipah virus outbreaks in its neighboring country Bangladesh, as well as nations further in Southeast Asia like Malaysia and Singapore. Prior to the ongoing outbreak, health experts have called for a hasty development of a vaccine against Nipah virus.