On January 27, China's National Disease Prevention and Control Agency said that it had not detected any cases of Nipah virus infection, and assessed that the newly reported outbreak in India only had a limited impact on China.
According to Chinese officials, the Nipah outbreak is currently mainly concentrated in West Bengal state of India - an area not bordering China. Meanwhile, India is facing a new outbreak of the Nipah virus, a virus with a very high mortality rate, ranging from 45% to 70%.
The Times of India reported that at least 5 infections have been confirmed and about 100 people in close contact are being quarantined for monitoring.
Chinese health authorities emphasize that the Nipah virus is mainly transmitted through direct contact with infected animals, patients, or contaminated materials. The virus's ability to survive in the external environment is relatively weak, so the risk of community exposure is assessed as low.
China has not yet recorded any cases and is expected to only be limitedly affected by outbreaks abroad," the announcement stated. However, this agency also warned that the risk of disease invasion is still present, and requested localities to increase vigilance and preventive measures.
Accordingly, China is closely monitoring and continuously assessing the epidemic situation abroad, while strengthening the training of medical personnel and improving response capacity in border areas.
Beijing also said it has developed, produced and stored nucleic acid testing technology for the Nipah virus. All provincial-level disease control centers have been equipped with specialized testing capabilities to detect cases early.
Chinese health officials said that the Nipah virus is a pathogen transmitted from animals to humans, with fruit bats being the main natural host.
Humans can be infected with the virus through direct contact with infected animals, consuming food contaminated with their secretions or feces, or through close contact with patients and the patient's body fluids.
Nipah virus infection can cause many respiratory and neurological symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, headache, dizziness; mortality rates are recorded in the range of 40-75%. There is currently no specific treatment or vaccine to prevent this virus.
The Chinese health agency recommends that people, especially those planning to visit epidemic areas, should raise their vigilance, strictly implement personal hygiene measures and prevent risky exposure.
On the same day, Chinese scientists said that an antiviral drug developed by this country, initially approved for the treatment of COVID-19, has shown significant Nipah antiviral activity and may become a "very promising oral drug candidate" in treatment.
Research on the drug named VV116 has been published since November in the international journal Emerging Microbes & Infections, by research groups of the Wuhan Institute of Virusology (China Academy of Sciences), Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceuticals and Vigonvita Life Science. The Wuhan Institute of Virusology also shared the research results on its social network account on January 27.
