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The topic of the Nipah virus got a very large interaction from readers in the world in general and the Arab world in particular, prompting the Chinese embassy in Cairo to comment,and the British newspaper The Guardian also modified its report, which it published a few days ago, dealing with the virus.
On January 26, the Guardian newspaper published a report by writer Julia Colewi, in which she talked about the unpreparedness of pharmaceutical companies for the next epidemic, in which they dealt with the Nipah virus and other viruses, and according to a statement by the director of Access to Medicine, China mentioned the matter.
Nepah is a zoonotic virus that is transmitted from animals to humans, and it can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people,and the mortality rate from infection is estimated at about 40% to 75%, according to the World Health Organization.
We start with the Chinese response, as the Chinese embassy in the Egyptian capital Cairo denied that the Nipah virus was a "Chinese" virus, as it was deliberately or not promoted by some media, according to Russia Today and other news sites.
The embassy said in a statement on this subject that "linking this virus to China is incorrect because the virus is in South Asia, not China specifically," stressing that there is no scientific evidence to support these allegations.
The Guardian amends its report
The writer Kollewi spoke in her article referred to an independent report that warned that the world's largest pharmaceutical companies are not ready for the next epidemic, despite the increasing response to the outbreak of "Covid-19".
It quoted Jaysri K Iyer, executive director of Access to Medicine, based in the Netherlands, which is a non-profit organization funded by the British and Dutch governments and others,as speaking about the outbreak of the Nipah virus in China, with a mortality rate of 75%, as a major potential pandemic.
"The Nipah virus is another emerging infectious disease that causes great anxiety ... it can flare up at any moment ... the next epidemic could be a drug-resistant infection," she said.
But on the evening of Sunday, January 31, last, the Guardian amended its report to delete any reference to China in the statement by Jayseri Ki Ayer, and the Guardian wrote, "This article was modified on January 31, 2021. A previous version - of the article - stated that Jayseri Key Iyer highlighted the outbreak of the Nipah virus in China, with a mortality rate of 75%, as the next big epidemic risk.Iyer talked about the Nipah virus in general, and that an outbreak in a large country like China could be catastrophic, there is currently no outbreak of Nipah In China".
This means that the Nipah virus is currently not prevalent in China.
The Axis to Medicine report didn't just talk about the Nipah virus
In the report published yesterday by Al-Jazeera Net, it was stated that the Access to Medicine report did not only talk about the Nipah virus, a resource for viruses and other diseases.
The Nipah virus is one of 10 infectious diseases out of 16 identified by the WHO as the most dangerous to public health, but there are no projects for them by pharmaceutical companies.
Among these diseases - according to the organization’s biennial report - Rift Valley fever common in sub-Saharan Africa, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and the last two are respiratory diseases caused by corona viruses. It has much higher mortality rates than "Covid-19" but is less contagious.
The report says that despite years of warnings that the new coronavirus is likely to cause a global health emergency, the pharmaceutical industry, as well as societies as a whole, have not been prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic.
The previous Al Jazeera Net report stated that the Guardian report dealt with the Access to Medicine report, which talked about the Nipah virus and other diseases, and was not limited to Nipah only.
Places of spread
According to the World Health Organization, the Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been reported in Malaysia since 1999.
It was also identified in Bangladesh in 2001, and nearly annual outbreaks have occurred in that country since then. The disease has also been recognized periodically in eastern India.
Other areas may be at risk, as evidence of the virus has been found in natural reservoirs in Pteropus bats and many other bat species in a number of countries, including Cambodia,Ghana, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Philippines and Thailand.
Facts from the World Health Organization
Below is information according to the WHO key facts:
1- Nipah is a zoonotic virus that is transmitted from animals to humans. It can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.
2- Nipah virus infection in humans causes a range of clinical symptoms, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis.
3- The case fatality rate is estimated to be between 40% and 75%. This rate may vary according to the outbreak, depending on local capacities for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management.
4- Fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae are the natural hosts of the Nipah virus.
5- There is no treatment or vaccine available for humans or animals for Nipah virus.
6- The primary treatment for humans is supportive care.