India imposes curbs after two die of Nipah virus

NEW DELHI, Sept 14 (AFP): India has curbed public gatherings and shut some schools in the southern state of Kerala after two people died of Nipah, a virus from bats or pigs that causes deadly fever, officials said Thursday.
The virus has no vaccine and a fatality rate ranging from 40 to 75 percent, according to the World Health Organization.
Symptoms include intense fever, vomiting and a respiratory infection, but severe cases can involve seizures and encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, and result in a coma.
Three others have tested positive, and more than 700 people including 153 health workers who came in contact with those infected are under observation, health officials said.
At least four people have been hospitalised, including the nine-year-old child of one of the victims.
Initially transmitted from animals such as fruit bats or pigs, Nipah is also spread from person to person, the WHO said.