Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Aug 26:13:100434.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2024.100434. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Twenty-five years of Nipah outbreaks in Southeast Asia: A persistent threat to global health

Sakirul Khan  1   2 , Sheikh Mohammad Fazle Akbar  1   3 , Mamun Al Mahtab  1   4 , Md Nasir Uddin  5 , Md Mamunur Rashid  6 , Takaaki Yahiro  1   2   7 , Takehiro Hashimoto  2   8 , Kazunori Kimitsuki  1   2 , Akira Nishizono  1   2
Affiliations

Twenty-five years of Nipah outbreaks in Southeast Asia: A persistent threat to global health

Sakirul Khan et al. IJID Reg. .

Abstract

Objectives: Nipah virus (NiV), a bat-borne zoonotic pathogen, poses persistent threats to global public health due to severe clinical manifestation and high case fatality rate (CFR). A critical examination of NiV outbreaks is essential for refining strategies and mitigating the impact of future infections. In this study, we provide a concise update on global NiV outbreaks that occurred during the past 25 years.

Methods: In this geospatial study, we conducted an in-depth examination of the epidemiological characteristics of human NiV cases and deaths from 1998 to 2024 through multiple analyses of public data and official reports.

Results: NiV emerged in 1998 in Malaysia during an outbreak among pig farmers. Since then, NiV outbreaks have been documented in five countries of South and Southeast Asia (Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore). As of May 2024, there have been 754 confirmed human NiV cases with 435 deaths (CFR: 58%) reported in these five countries. Bangladesh records the highest incidence (341 cases and 241 deaths; CFR: 71%) followed by Malaysia (283 cases and 109 deaths; CFR: 39%), India (102 cases and 74 deaths; CFR: 73%), the Philippines (17 cases and nine deaths; CFR: 53%), and Singapore (11 cases and one death; CFR: 9%).

Conclusions: The clinical outcomes of NiV have been underscoring constant global public health threats as no effective therapies and vaccines are available. Strong global understandings, with an eye on developing vaccines and therapeutics, are required to minimize clinical outcomes and future threats of NiV.

Keywords: Active surveillance; Global understanding; High fatality; Nipah outbreaks; Southeast Asia; Vaccine and therapeutics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geographical distribution of Nipah virus outbreaks in humans during 1998-2024. Data are as of May 31, 2024.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Epidemiological patterns of human Nipah virus cases, deaths, and CFR in Bangladesh and India during 2001-2024. Data are as of May 31, 2024. CFR, case fatality rate.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chua KB, Bellini WJ, Rota PA, Harcourt BH, Tamin A, Lam SK, et al. Nipah virus: a recently emergent deadly paramyxovirus. Science. 2000;288:1432–1435. doi: 10.1126/science.288.5470.1432. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gurley ES, Montgomery JM, Hossain MJ, Bell M, Azad AK, Islam MR, et al. Person-to-person transmission of Nipah virus in a Bangladeshi community. Emerg Infect Dis. 2007;13:1031–1037. doi: 10.3201/eid1307.061128. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cortes-Azuero O, Lefrancq N, Nikolay B, McKee C, Cappelle J, Hul V, et al. The genetic diversity of Nipah virus across spatial scales. J Infect Dis. 2024 doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae221. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chua KB. Epidemiology, surveillance and control of Nipah virus infections in Malaysia. Malays J Pathol. 2010;32:69–73. - PubMed
    1. Ching PKG, de los Reyes VC, Sucaldito MN, Tayag E, Columna-Vingno AB, Malbas FF, Jr, et al. Outbreak of henipavirus infection, Philippines, 2014. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015;21:328–331. doi: 10.3201/eid2102.141433. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources