Six dead as Nipah virus spreads in Kozhikode, India

In what is being termed as a serious viral outbreak, three members of a Kerala family have succumbed to a rare viral infection known to be transmitted by bats. The Nipah virus (NiV), first identified in April 1999, is believed to catalyst a host of physical and neurological conditions in human beings as well as animals.

The first outbreak in Malaysia resulted in a whopping 103 human deaths and the mandated euthanasia of about a million farm animals, particularly pigs.

Source: wikinews.org

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