Nipah virus alert as countries tighten border checks | World | News
Australia has been urged to follow Thailand, Hong Kong, Nepal and Malaysia by tightening border controls to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus. Two cases of the deadly disease have been confirmed among healthcare workers in West Bengal, India. In response, Thailand has implemented extra health screenings at major airports for travelers from the region.
Professor Wang Linfa, an expert in emerging infectious diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, said Australia should also collect contact details of travelers from affected areas. “Not everyone coming from India needs to take a PCR test. This would be an exaggeration. However, in case someone close to you does, their contact information needs to be up to date,” he said. [arrivals] “It’s positive.”
Health authorities in India have traced and tested nearly 200 contacts of the two confirmed patients.
Nipah virus can spread through direct contact with an infected person or animal or through consumption of contaminated food.
It has been described as a virus with the potential to trigger a global pandemic, but British experts have stressed that this will only happen if the virus mutates significantly and becomes more contagious.
The outbreak coincides with the Lunar New Year period, when many people travel in Asia. This period is thought to have accelerated the spread of Covid-19 in early 2020.
Prof Linfa told The Australian that when it came to travel and testing measures “we should just assume everyone gets very sick and dies”.
He added: “In Australia all the testing is readily available, so if you suspect anyone you test them, if they test positive you restrict their movement.”
The Australian Center for Disease Control said on Thursday it was monitoring the situation.
The company told The Australian it was not considering any additional border measures related to the outbreak, adding: “Existing bad traveler protocols and pre-arrival reporting measures screen and detect travelers with symptoms and systems of serious infectious diseases.
“Current protocols also ensure that identified ill travelers can be quickly evaluated and referred to competent health authorities where appropriate.”
