Abstract
BackgroundIn June 2019, Nipah virus (NiV) infection was detected in a 21-year-old male (index case) of Ernakulum, Kerala, India. This study was undertaken to determine if NiV was in circulation in Pteropus species (spp) in those areas where the index case had visit history in 1 month.MethodsSpecialized techniques were used to trap the Pteropus medius bats (random sampling) in the vicinity of the index case area. Throat and rectal swabs samples of 141 bats along with visceral organs of 92 bats were collected to detect the presence of NiV by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRTPCR). Serum samples of 52 bats were tested for anti-NiV Immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The complete genome of NiV was sequenced by next-generation sequencing (NGS) from the tissues and swab samples of bats.ResultsOne rectal swab sample and three bats visceral organs were found positive for the NiV. Interestingly, 20.68% (12/58) of Pteropus were positive for anti-NiV IgG antibodies. NiV sequences of 18,172; 17,200 and 15,100 nucleotide bps could be retrieved from three Pteropus bats.ConclusionA distinct cluster of NiV sequences, with significant net-evolutionary nucleotide divergence, was obtained, suggesting the circulation of new genotype (I-India) in South India. NiV Positivity in Pteropus spp. of bats revealed that NiV is circulating in many districts of Kerala state, and active surveillance of NiV should be immediately set up to know the hotspot area for NiV infection.
Highlights
In June 2019, Nipah virus (NiV) infection was detected in a 21-year-old male of Ernakulum, Kerala, India
The clinical samples, including blood, serum, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were referred to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune to rule out NiV infection in the case
Detection of NiV RNA in the bat samples One (MCL-19-bat-572 Pteropus bat; collected from site-1 Thodupuzha, Idukki district) out of the total 141 rectal swabs collected was positive for NiV RNA by qRT-PCR while none of the throat swabs [n = 141] samples were positive
Summary
In June 2019, Nipah virus (NiV) infection was detected in a 21-year-old male (index case) of Ernakulum, Kerala, India. Nipah virus (NiV), belonging to genus Henipavirus (family Paramyxoviridae), caused high mortality in humans and was first reported from Malaysia and Singapore during 1998–99 [1, 2]. A 21-year-old male student was admitted to a private hospital of Ernakulam district, Kerala state, with persistent fever for 10 days, followed by acute encephalitic symptoms for 2 days. The clinical samples, including blood, serum, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were referred to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune to rule out NiV infection in the case. Nipah viral RNA was detected from CSF and urine samples by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Anti-Immunoglobulin (Ig) M antibodies were detected in serum samples by EnzymeLinked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) [7, 8]
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