Nipah

Nipah is an RNA zoonotic virus that emerged in Malaysia in 1999 that infects both pigs and humans. Fruit bats are the natural reservoir, and they can transmit the virus when pigs come in contact with their urine, feces, or saliva from infected animals. It can also spread between pigs by direct contact and through aerosol droplets. Infected pigs may show signs of respiratory distress, nasal discharge, non-productive cough, lethargy, and sudden death. Current diagnostics for Nipah include ELISA (IgG and IgM), RT-PCR, and virus isolation. However, the Nipah virus is classified as a biosecurity level (BSL) 4 agent so virus handling needs to be done in high containment laboratories.