Doctors In Bali Issue Updates For Tourists On Emerging New Virus

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Officials from Indonesia’s Health Service have issued statements regarding the rise in the number of cases of Nipah Virus in India.

The virus has recently been discovered in Kerala in India and Punjab in Pakistan is on high alert. 

Nipah Virus has been noted as the cause of death of two people in Kerala India in the last few days. Previous outbreaks of the virus occurred in Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Countries at risk of the virus include Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Madagascar, Thailand, and the Philippines due to the species of fruit bats native to these countries. 

Due to the increasing number of tourists from India heading to Bali, health officials have issued a circular letter regarding the outbreak in India.

The Ministry of Health, through the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control, has issued Circular Letter Number HK.02.02/C/4022/2023 concerning Precautions against Nipah Virus Disease.

@learnwithmenka There has been a Nipah virus outbreak in India and here is everything you need to know about it. I feel like after COVID people get anxious about new viral outbreaks, so I’m here to let you know that experts are NOT expecting it to spread to the whole world the way COVID did. Ps: I took a break from posting because I went on vacation for a month, but I’m back and ready to start posting regularly 🙂 SOURCES: CDC website NATURE – Nipah virus outbreak: what scientists know so far #nipah #virus #outbreak #greenscreen #news #sciencecommunicator #scitok #publichealth #learnontiktok #stem #stemtok #sciencecommunication ♬ original sound – Learn with Menka

Just last month, officials in Bali celebrated the rising number of tourists from India visiting the island. It has long been a mission of the provincial government to create stronger tourism ties between Bali and India.

Speaking from Denpasar on 11th September the Provincial Secretary of Bali said, “Indian tourists have an important role in driving Bali tourism. Therefore we must maintain this momentum together.”

Dewa Made Indra confirmed, “As of August 31st, 2023, Indian tourists to Bali will have reached more than 288,000 people.”

“I am optimistic that by the end of the year, it can reach more than 374,000. In 2019, Indian tourist visits to Bali reached 374,000.”

It remains the case that the most frequent visitors to Bali hail from Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore. 

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BREAKING: India locked down in 7 containment zones after deadly Nipah virus outbreak.

♬ original sound – American Politiks

The Head of the Bali Provincial Health Service, I Nyoman Gee Anom, said that this outbreak of Nipah Virus is being monitored by Indonesia as an emerging disease.

The virus can be transmitted from animals to humans and from human to human. Anom explained, “The mode of transmission can be through contact with contaminated urine, saliva, specimens or eating.” 

In most recorded cases, patients who have contracted the Nipah Virus have done so through close contact with a sick, infected animal, such as a pig, or consuming fruit or fruit products that had been contaminated with secreted from fruit bats. 

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According to the World Health Organization, the virus can be transmitted from pigs, horses, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, or bats.

Symptoms to be aware of include acute respiratory infection, fever, headaches, muscle pain, vomiting, and sore throat.

If the virus progresses, symptoms like dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, and neurological signs that indicate acute encephalitis can develop.

The incubation period is believed to be 4-14 days. WHO figures suggest that the fatality rate is between 40-75%. 

However, a Virologist from Udayana University Prof. I Gusti Ngurah Kade Mahardika, has assured tourists and the public that the risk of transmission from human to human is low.

During previous outbreaks around the world, the majority of cases of human-to-human transmission of Nipah Virus came from those who were caregivers for a sick patient. 

The World Health Organization says that there is no vaccine for Nipah Virus, and in its place, raising awareness of the virus can help prevent infection and mitigate risks.

WHO explains that the leading cause of transmission is from bat to human.

With this in mind, WHO states, “the risk of international transmission via fruits or fruit products (such as raw date palm juice) contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats can be prevented by washing them thoroughly and peeling them before consumption. Fruit with signs of bat bites should be discarded.” 

Professor Mahardika said that even in previous outbreaks of Nipah Virus in Indonesia, no human-to-human transmission has been recorded.

He confirmed, “It is possible that the virus does not exist in Indonesia [right now] or has not been detected. It has not been reported, or no one has traced it to humans.”