The center has proactively implemented early preventive and control measures to safeguard public health.
According to HCDC, NiV is currently spreading in India, while no cases have been detected in Vietnam to date. The city’s health sector is continuing to strengthen surveillance of individuals arriving from affected areas.
Specifically, authorities have intensified monitoring at international ports of entry to enable early detection of travelers presenting with fever or other symptoms suggestive of dangerous infectious diseases. Suspected cases will be promptly isolated and managed on-site, with heightened scrutiny applied to arrivals from regions experiencing outbreaks.
Passengers returning from outbreak-affected areas who develop symptoms suggestive of infection, including fever and headaches within an incubation period of 3 to 14 days, accompanied by respiratory signs such as cough, sore throat, or shortness of breath, are advised to seek immediate medical attention for timely consultation and treatment.
According to HCDC, there is currently no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Nipah virus infection. To prevent transmission, people should wash hands frequently with soap and water, avoid contact with bats or sick pigs, stay away from areas where bats are known to roost, and avoid contact with blood or bodily fluids of anyone known to be infected with NiV, the agency warned.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic pathogen that can be transmitted from animals to humans through contaminated food or via direct human-to-human contact. Infection may occur through direct exposure to infected animals such as bats or pigs; consumption of food products contaminated with bodily fluids of infected animals, including raw date palm sap or fruit contaminated by infected bats; or close contact with an individual infected with NiV or their bodily fluids, including respiratory secretions, nasal droplets, urine, or blood.
People infected with the Nipah virus typically develop symptoms after an incubation period of four to 14 days. Clinical manifestations range from mild to severe, beginning with fever and headache and often accompanied by respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat, and shortness of breath.
In severe cases, particularly when complications such as encephalitis occur, patients may experience drowsiness, disorientation, and mental disturbances, which can rapidly progress to coma within 24 to 48 hours. The case fatality rate is estimated at 40 to 75 percent. Long-term sequelae have been documented among survivors, including persistent seizures and personality changes.
