The US scientists have announced a possible new pandemic with a 75% death rate, The Sun reports.
The head of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Rebecca Dutch, believes that the Nipah virus could “absolutely” cause the next pandemic. At the same time, mortality from the consequences of Nipah is much higher than from COVID-19. It ranges from 45% to 75%.
The expert also noted that mutations in this infection can mutate and make it more infectious in humans.
In turn, Dr. Melanie Seville warned that the world should prepare for a “very large” pandemic. Moreover, it will be much worse than the current one, the doctor said.
Environmental writer and expert on animal-borne diseases, John Vidal, is convinced that a new pandemic of the scale of the Black Death awaits humanity. He pointed to the popularity of air travel and world trade. With this in mind, he is confident that “the virus can spread throughout the world through asymptomatic carriers” in a few weeks, “killing tens of millions of people even before the borders of countries are closed”.
The Nipah virus causes severe cerebral edema, seizures and vomiting. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it can be asymptomatic and can cause serious respiratory problems and encephalitis. In addition, the researchers are concerned about the particularly long incubation period of Nipah – 45 days.
WHO calls Nipah one of the most dangerous viruses for humanity.