With Nipah outbreaks reported in India and Bangladesh in successive years, the World Health Organisation (WHO) will collaborate with the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, US, to facilitate the collaborative development of a draft “Nipah Research and Development Roadmap.”
One reason for the WHO embarking on this blueprint is that the outbreaks have occurred with high case fatality. As of now, no ready vaccine is available in the market. The research and development will certainly help come up with a vaccine for this disease, says D.T. Mourya, Director of the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV), which is designated as one of the collaborating laboratories of the WHO for arbovirus reference and research.
The roadmap prioritises the development of countermeasures (diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines) that are most needed by Nipah-affected countries and is the result of extensive consultations with the Nipah research and development roadmap task force, leading national and international experts and other key stakeholders.
Nipah is one of the 11 diseases considered as an urgent need of research and development attention in the revised priority list of pathogens issued by the WHO in January 2017. Since 2001, it has caused almost annual outbreaks in Bangladesh, and the infection has been associated to a case fatality rate of up to 100%, a draft document said.
Product development
Selected disease areas are identified as WHO priorities for product development. In the case of Nipah virus, target product profile development follows the selection of Nipah virus as part of the WHO research and development blueprint for action to prevent epidemics. The target audience includes vaccine scientists, product developers, manufacturers and funding agencies, it said.
The WHO has already pointed out that the outbreak reported from Kozhikode district on May 19 was the first Nipah outbreak in South India. As on May 31, there have been 17 deaths, 18 confirmed cases and a few people under observation. The fatality rate in Kerala is above 92%, while those reported in Siliguri in February 2001 and Nadia in April 2007 were 68% and 100% respectively.
The WHO is providing technical support to the Government of India as needed but has not recommended the application of any travel or trade restrictions or entry screening related to Nipah outbreak.
