The Era of Molecular Biology: Diagnostics for Nipah Virus

Abstract

Abstract: Nipah virus (NiV) is an emerging pathogen that, unlike other priority pathogens identified by the WHO, is endemic to Southeast Asia. It is most commonly transmitted through exposure to saliva or excrement from the Pteropus fruit bat or direct contact with intermediate animal hosts, such as pigs. NiV infection causes severe febrile encephalitic disease and/or respiratory disease; treatment options are limited to supportive care. The serological and nucleic acid amplification techniques have been developed for NiV and are used in laboratory settings, including some early multiplex panels for differentiation of NiV infection. The rural and remote nature of NiV outbreak settings, there remains a need for rapid diagnostic tests that can be implemented at the point of care. Additionally, more reliable assays for surveillance of communities and livestock will be vital to achieving a better understanding of the fruit bat host and transmission risk to other intermediate hosts, enabling the implementation to outbreak prevention and the management of this NiV. An improved understanding of NiV viral diversity and infection kinetics or dynamics will be central to the development of new diagnostics to enable effective validation and external quality assessments