Cambodia – Nipah Virus, the next possible pandemic

Nipah virus (NiV), which causes inflammation in the human brain and respiratory system, is a deadly virus with a high mortality rate and it has affected many developing countries in the past. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many economically deprived countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, and other and other countries in East Asia are at high risk for future outbreaks. Dr. Veasna Duong, from the Virology Unit at the Pasteur Institute in Battambang, stated that the Nipah virus is transmitted through bats or flying foxes that carry this virus in their bodies to pigs and then to humans, explaining that the transmission of Nipah among humans is limited so far, but in the case of Transmission between humans with high efficiency, it will be catastrophic and cause higher death rates than Coronavirus. He added that the factors of its transmission between humans are present in Asian countries because citizens in those countries do not pay attention to the danger of bats. Whereas Dr. Neil Furey, of Flora and Fauna International, pointed out a study conducted and published by the World Health Organization, which concludes that the possibility of the virus currently appearing among humans is very rare for several reasons, the most important is that it spreads at very low levels, but there is still a possibility of its spread, especially in live animal markets that do not usually meet in nature, as these markets turn into incubators and an ideal environment through which viruses can transmit to humans as well as its multiple mutations that make them more fatal to humans. The virus was first identified during an outbreak in 1998 among pig farmers in Malaysia, where it killed over 100 people and led to the slaughtering of more than one million pigs and almost two decades later, little scientific progress has been made in finding a proper treatment and prevention vaccine, and several articles have also been published recently announcing that it is likely the next pandemic.