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Nipah Virus

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User Generated
Subject
Microbiology
School
Dyersburg State Community College
Type
Homework
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Pathogens & Disease
Revised July 2019
www.BioInteractive.org
Page 1 of 4
Epidemiology of Nipah Virus
Activity
Student Handout
To use this document, first read the Instructions and FAQs. This document is made available by the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute. Using this document, you agree to use this document in accordance with the Terms of Use.
INTRODUCTION
In this activity, you will be exploring cases of Nipah virus infection as an epidemiologist would, by collecting
evidence and making calculations and predictions, based on scientific data.
Nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis, a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
This infection in humans causes highly variable symptoms, ranging from an asymptomatic infection to fatal
encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. A vaccine for Nipah virus does not exist, and the primary treatment
for humans is limited to intensive supportive care.
Do you have what it takes to be an epidemiologist?
PROCEDURE
1. Complete Parts 13 below and read the questions in Part 4.
2. Watch the video Virus Hunter: Monitoring Nipah Virus in Bat Populations.
3. Complete Parts 4 and 5.
MATERIALS
access to the video
“Student Reading” handout
calculator
PART 1: Looking for Patterns and Making Predictions
Clusters of Nipah virus infections were detected at different locations in Malaysia from September 1998 through
May 1999. One area of Malaysia that was studied extensively during this time was the Port Dickson district, which
is located in the state of Negeri Sembilan on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. Epidemiologists recognized a
higher prevalence of Nipah infection among pig farmers in this area. In one study, they decided to collect data
from people living and working on farms in Port Dickson in order to understand the source of the infection. They
collected the data from two groups:
1. patients: individuals with encephalitis and evidence of Nipah infection from lab studies
2. controls: individuals who did not have any evidence of disease and came from farms that had some cases of
Nipah virus infection but no reports of encephalitis
Table 1. Occupations* and living arrangements for people in the Port Dickson study
Variable
Patients (n = 97)
Pig Farmer/Owner
86 (89%)
Housewife
3 (3%)
Student
9 (9%)
Lived on a pig farm
72 (74.2%)
Worked on a pig farm
91 (94%)
*Occupations were not mutually exclusive.
Source: D. Umesh et al. “Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Human Infection with a New Zoonotic Paramyxovirus, Nipah Virus, during
a 1998–1999 Outbreak of Severe Encephalitis in Malaysia.” The Journal of Infectious Diseases 181, 5 (2000): 17551759.

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Epidemiology of Nipah Virus
Pathogens & Disease
Revised July 2019
www.BioInteractive.org
Page 2 of 4
Activity
Student Handout
Table 2. Percentage of people in this study who reported illness among other animals on their farm
Variable
Patients
Dogs
87%
Cats
64%
Rats
80%
Chickens
78%
Bats
19%
Table 3. Percentage of infected people in this study who reported an increase in sick/dying animals on their farm
Variable
Patients
Pigs
59%
Dogs
25%
Cats
12%
Rats
9%
Chickens
11%
Bats
0%
1. Using the data in Table 1, make a prediction about the source of the Nipah virus outbreak in Port Dickson,
Malaysia. Summarize the data that support your prediction.
Based on Table 1, the source of Nipah virus outbreak might be the pigs. This is because the percentage of
infection in people who lived (74%) and worked (94%) in pig farms was higher as compared to normal
housewives (3%) and students (9%).
2. What actions might you take to prevent further spread of this disease?
The best way to prevent the transmission is to wash hands regularly and avoid direct contact with pigs and
other associated hosts like domestic animals.
3. Which animal species in this study would you test for Nipah virus antibodies? Why?
Since most of the patients are pig farmers and owners, then definitely, pigs must be tested for Nipah virus
antibodies. With this, there is a high chance of correlating the illnesses experienced by humans with that of
the pigs.
4. Based on the data above, which animal species was least affected by Nipah virus infection? Explain your
answer using the data. Can you think of a reason why this might be?
Bats were least affected by Nipah virus infection. This is significantly shown in Table 3 wherein none of bats’
population among the farms of infected people were ill. The reason might be because bats are carriers or
reservoir hosts of the virus. They are infected but they do not show signs of illness unlike other animal species.
PART 2: Reading
Read the background information in the “Student Reading” handout to gain a better understanding of
epidemiology and the necessary vocabulary and calculations to complete the rest of the activity.

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Epidemiology of Nipah Virus Activity Student Handout To use this document, first read the Instructions and FAQs. This document is made available by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Using this document, you agree to use this document in accordance with the Terms of Use. INTRODUCTION In this activity, you will be exploring cases of Nipah virus infection as an epidemiologist would, by collecting evidence and making calculations and predictions, based on scientific data. Nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis, a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. This infection in humans causes highly variable symptoms, ranging from an asymptomatic infection to fatal encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. A vaccine for Nipah virus does not exist, and the primary treatment for humans is limited to intensive supportive care. Do you have what it takes to be an epidemiologist? PROCEDURE 1. Complete Parts 1–3 below and read the questions in Part 4. 2. Watch the video Virus Hunter: Monitoring Nipah Virus in Bat Populations. 3. Complete Parts 4 and 5. MATERIALS ● access to the video ● “Student Reading” handout ● calculator PART 1: Looking for Patterns and Making Predictions Clusters of Nipah virus infections were detected at different locations in Malaysia from September 1998 through May 1999. One area of Malaysia that was studied extensively during this time was the Port Dickson district, which is located in the state of Negeri Sembilan on the we ...
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