The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new details regarding two fatal cases of Nipah virus infections in Bangladesh. The cases, which were confirmed before February 9, resulted in the deaths of both patients. The individuals, a 38-year-old man and a 3-year-old girl, were from Dhaka division but from separate districts and were not epidemiologically linked to each other, according to a statement from the WHO.

The man’s symptoms began on January 11, and he passed away on January 28 after testing positive for Nipah virus. It was discovered that he had consumed raw date palm sap, a practice known to increase the risk of contracting the disease. Despite efforts to educate communities about the risks, public health officials continue to warn against drinking raw date palm sap due to potential contamination with bat droppings containing the virus.

The second patient, a 3-year-old girl, was isolated in a Dhaka city hospital on January 30, and her Nipah virus infection was confirmed the following day. Investigators found that she had regularly consumed raw date palm sap. However, all 67 of her contacts tested negative for the virus.

The WHO emphasized that the risk to Bangladesh is moderate, citing the high case-fatality rate and ongoing consumption of raw date palm sap. Additionally, the regional risk is considered moderate due to Bangladesh sharing an ecological corridor with India and Myanmar for the bats that are the natural Nipah virus hosts. Currently, there are no vaccines or treatments for Nipah virus, which has been classified as a priority disease for countermeasure research and development.

In a separate study, researchers from the University of Washington found that behavior change played a larger role than vaccination in curbing the 2022 mpox epidemic. The analysis revealed that mpox spread in North America began to slow down before 10% of high-risk individuals in the United States were vaccinated, indicating the significant impact of behavior change in ending the outbreaks.