The most serious complication of Nipah, and often what makes it so deadly, is a neurological complication called encephalitis, which is a swelling of the brain.
This can trigger numerous neurological symptoms including confusion, altered consciousness, seizures or even a coma.
The incubation period between infection and showing symptoms is usually around four to 21 days, but neurological symptoms typically appear several days to weeks after the initial onset of illness.What exactly is the Nipah virus?
The Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus, meaning it jumps from animals (specifically fruit bats and pigs) to humans.
It can also spread through contaminated food or direct person-to-person contact.
Unlike coronavirus, which had a global mortality rate of around 3.4%, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the fatality rate of Nipah to sit at around 40% to 75% – making it an extremely dangerous infection to those that contract it.
