Rapid development of vaccines for tropical infections is a breakthrough of the coronavirus era
India is nowhere near the finish line with respect to the coronavirus pandemic, even as fears of a Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala surfaced. One death confirmed in Kozhikode. While West Bengal and Kerala have reported multiple confirmed cases of the viral infection since 2001, it was the Kozhikode outbreak in 2018 that made headlines after 17 deaths and 18 confirmed cases, underscoring the high infection-related fatality. Outbreaks caused by foreign viruses are not foreign to India: A look at weekly reports compiled by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program shows the diversity of viral or bacterial outbreaks that dazzled with barely a mention, unless That they do not threaten India’s metropolitan cities as outbreaks of dengue, H1N1, chikungunya or malaria occasionally occur. However, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic also draws attention to the significant outbreaks that preceded it. Nipah was the first outbreak in Kozhikode and Malappuram where terms like ‘contact tracing’, ‘RT PCR’, ‘antigen testing’ and ‘PPE kits’ became part of the general discourse in Kerala. The state’s public health system, which was earlier praised for only quality primary health care, earned praise for its ability to establish links between the infected and their contacts and isolate them to prevent further spread.
explained | Nipah, a highly pathogenic paramyxovirus
There are now nationally established protocols for three key aspects of a potential pandemic: infection control, treatment and vaccination. When a transition occurs, the world now understands what can and cannot be controlled in the context of each geographic area. It is these lessons from the coronavirus pandemic that should inform future outbreaks. It became routine for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to report outbreaks of ‘mystery fever’, at intervals, when they were often easily diagnosable infections that were far from a competent, accessible laboratory test. Thus, while it is not known whether the latest Nipah outbreak in India will end as of 2019 or become worse than 2018, India should be pleased that the outbreak likely causes national concern and has been And there is an anticipatory reaction as opposed to a purely reactive one. Arrive. A standardized treatment for Nipah remains elusive and the spike in cases could spell disaster given the high mortality rate. However, some studies suggest that vaccines developed for the coronavirus, if modified enough, may prove effective against Nipah virus as well. Another possible candidate vaccine is in preliminary human trials. Because vaccination remains the best bet against the disease, the fact that global attention and capital is no longer needed to develop vaccines for tropical infections is itself a significant difference in how the world approaches an outbreak in the coronavirus era. reaches.
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