ASIAN NIPAH VIRUS AND THE POTENTIAL OF NEW PANDEMIC

Nipah virus infection is a renewable threatening stage III zoonotic disease caused high mortality rates and significant public health risks in the past two decades. Several outbreaks of the Nipah virus occurred in Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and other Asian countries, which differed in the characteristics as each outbreak results from a novel strain of the virus. The continuous change of the viral hosts, as it jumps from bats to the animal/human and vice versa, but the virus in need to adapt to the new environment and favor mutations accuracy. The recent outbreaks of the virus caused much concern worldwide due to its ease of transmission and high mortality rates. During the rapid spread and replication of Nipah virus, more mutations are likely to develop, enhancing its epidemiological patterns and increasing its pathogenicity, raising the risk for a new pandemic. This review presents the chronological development of Nipah virus outbreaks and the main differences from the originally discovered Nipah virus and the more recent strains and discussed the potential of this virus to become a new pandemic.