One dies from Nipah virus

Staff Reporter :
A Nipah virus patient from Manikgonj has died in a hospital in Dhaka as the second fatality from the disease reported in Bangladesh this year.

The patient, Babul Hossain, was admitted to the Manikganj Sadar Hospital on Jan 16 and later transferred to Popular Hospital in the capital when his condition deteriorated.
Manikganj Civil Surgeon Dr Moazzem Ali Khan Chowdhury said it on Sunday.

The hospital sent his samples to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research and the test results turned positive of Nipah virus on Jan 24.

Dr Moazzem said that Babul, hails from Sadar Upazila’s Putail village, died after he was transferred again to Infectious Diseases Hospital on Saturday.

Dr Mizanur Rahman, the superintendent of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, and Dr Tahmina Shirin, the director at the IEDCR, also confirmed Babul’s death from Nipah virus infection.

Rubiya Khatun, a UP member of Putail, told journalists that Babul’s death was the second from the virus as Lutfar Rahman (27) of the same area died on January 16 from Nipah virus after drinking raw date juice.

The fatality has come nearly one and a half months after the government issued a warning for the deadly virus this winter.

The virus is transmitted through raw date juice that contains the excrement or saliva of infected bats. Anyone who drinks infected juice will get the disease.

The Directorate General of Health Services warned people against eating fruits partially eaten by birds or bats, consuming raw date juice, and advised them to wash fruits well with water before eating.

The DGHS said, the symptoms of Nipah include fever, headache, convulsions, delirium, fainting, and, in some cases, shortness of breath. The disease poses a major health risk.

Anyone who shows symptoms of Nipah should be sent to the hospital immediately and those who have come in contact with the patient must wash their hands thoroughly with soap, the DGHS said.