Symptoms:
- Fever
- Cough
- Headache
- Shortness of breath
- Disorientatin and mental confusion
- Drowsiness
- Coma (symptoms can progress into coma over the next 24-48 hours)
Tests to diagnose:
- Laboratory diagnosis of NVI is made using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from throat swabs, cerebrospinal fluid, urine and blood analysis during acute and convalescent stages of the disease.
- IgG and IgM antibody detection can be done after recovery to confirm Nipah virus infection.
- Immunohistochemistry on tissues collected during autopsy also confirms the disease.
- Viral RNA can be isolated from the saliva of infected persons.
Treatment:
- Currently there is no effective treatment for Nipah virus infection.
- The treatment is limited to supportive care.
- It is important to practice standard infection control practices and proper barrier nursing techniques to avoid the spread of the infection from person to person.