Animal Husbandry department and Forest officials inspect a well to to catch bats at Changaroth in Kozhikode in the Indian state of Kerala.- AFP
KUALA LUMPUR: A deadly virus called Nipah carried by bats has already caused human outbreaks across South and South-East Asia and has "serious epidemic potential", global health and infectious disease specialists said on Monday (Dec 9).
The virus, identified in 1999 in Malaysia and Singapore, has sparked outbreaks with mortality rates of between 40% and 90% and spread thousands of kilometres to Bangladesh and India - yet there are no drugs or vaccines against it, they said.
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