NIPHK states that the risk from the Nipah virus for Kosovo is low

NIPHK states that the risk from the Nipah virus for Kosovo is low

The National Institute of Public Health has announced that the Epidemic Intelligence Committee and the Communicable Diseases Committee have held meetings to discuss the global situation regarding the spread of the ‘Nipah’ virus.

They told RTK that according to the Committees’ current assessment, the risk to Kosovo is low, as the WHO and other organizations have assessed that the outbreaks remain sporadic, localized and with limited potential for spread beyond India, where two cases have been detected.

However, according to them, the Committees have recommended expanding epidemiological surveillance and increasing the preparedness of the health system, but at this stage there is no reason for public alarm or risk to the population in Kosovo.

Doctor Naser Ramadani, former head of the National Institute of Public Health, says that public health experts emphasize that the Nipah virus is rare, but when outbreaks occur, the consequences can be very serious.

However, he underlines the importance of informing citizens so that they do not fall prey to various misinformation and do not cause unnecessary panic. According to him, this virus can be transmitted from animals to humans.

The most common sources of infection are fruit bats, which species are not found in our country and that the virus is currently not spread through the air. Meanwhile, the symptoms are mainly fever, headache, confusion, difficulty breathing, etc. He adds that so far the outbreaks are limited to some areas of Asia and the risk for Europe, the Balkans, Kosovo and Albania is very low./RTK