Nipah virus: epidemiology, pathology, immunobiology and advances in diagnosis, vaccine designing and control strategies – a comprehensive review

Abstract

Nipah (Nee-pa) viral disease is a zoonotic infection caused by Nipah virus (NiV), a paramyxovirus belonging to the genus Henipavirus of the family Paramyxoviridae. It is a biosafety level-4 pathogen, which is transmitted by specific types of fruit bats, mainly Pteropus spp. which are natural reservoir host. The disease was reported for the first time from the Kampung Sungai Nipah village of Malaysia in 1998. Human-to-human transmission also occurs. Outbreaks have been reported also from other countries in South and Southeast Asia. Phylogenetic analysis affirmed the circulation of two major clades of NiV as based on currently available complete N and G gene sequences. NiV isolates from Malaysia and Cambodia clustered together in NiV-MY clade, whereas isolates from Bangladesh and India clusterered within NiV-BD clade. NiV isolates from Thailand harboured mixed population of sequences. In humans, the virus is responsible for causing rapidly progressing severe illness which might be characterized by severe respiratory illness and/or deadly encephalitis. In pigs below six months of age, respiratory illness along with nervous symptoms may develop. Different types of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays along with molecular methods based on polymerase chain reaction have been developed for diagnostic purposes. Due to the expensive nature of the antibody drugs, identification of broad-spectrum antivirals is essential along with focusing on small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). High pathogenicity of NiV in humans, and lack of vaccines or therapeutics to counter this disease have attracted attention of researchers worldwide for developing effective NiV vaccine and treatment regimens.

COVID-19: animals, veterinary and zoonotic links

“…The past decade and recent episodes of Zika, Ebola, Nipah, and Bird flu viruses (Munjal et al 2017;Dhama et al 2012Dhama et al , 2018Singh et al 2019), and lessons learned from previous threats of coronaviruses (SARS-and MERS-CoVs) along with advances in science have paved pace to counter emerging pathogens including the SARS-CoV-2. For this purpose, high efforts are being made to contain and control the spread of this emerging virus haunting the lives of humans and posing even now a pandemic situation.…”

COVID-19, an emerging coronavirus infection: advances and prospects in designing and developing vaccines, immunotherapeutics, and therapeutics

“…[2][3][4] Many efforts have been directed to develop vaccines against human CoV infections in recent decades, but a limiting factor is the degree of cross-protection rendered by these vaccines due to their extensive sequence diversity. 5 Various vaccines, immunotherapeutics, and drug options have been explored during the recent threats of Zika, Ebola, and Nipah viruses [6][7][8] as well as against previous CoVs including SARS-and MERS-CoVs. 3,5,[9][10][11][12] These valuable options can be exploited for their potency, efficacy, and safety along with expediting other ongoing research 2,4,[13][14][15] so as to discover valuable modalities for tackling the emerging COVID-19, but as yet there is no effective vaccine or therapeutic, for which intense efforts are ongoing.…”

Nipah Virus: Past Outbreaks and Future Containment

“…A few fruit bat populations in Cambodia [20], Thailand [21], Madagascar [22] and Ghana [23] have been found positive for NiV-neutralizing antibodies during the serological surveillance studies. The route of transmission occurs via contact with excretions or secretions of infected animals, ingestion of fruit contaminated with NiV or close contact with infected human bodily fluids [24,25]. Attachment and entry into the host cell is controlled by the F and G proteins spanning across the envelope [16].…”