Indonesia’s Bali steps up screening tourists for Nipah virus to prevent outbreak on island
- The measures were rolled out following two deaths from the brain-damaging virus in the south Indian state of Kerala last month
- Bali welcomed more than 3 million foreign travellers, including 288,873 arrivals from India, in the first eight months of the year
Bali has stepped up screenings of all tourists, particularly arrivals from India, to stave off a potential outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus amid a jump in visitors from the South Asian nation.
Health officials in the Indonesian resort island said if a passenger was found to have travelled to countries with a history of Nipah virus cases and displays symptoms including high temperatures and an acute respiratory tract infection, they would be sent to hospital for a complete assessment.
Bali’s chief health officer I Nyoman Gede Anom said the heightened measures were rolled out following two deaths from the brain-damaging virus in the south Indian state of Kerala last month.
The virus is transmitted to humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected bats, pigs or other people.
It was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak of illness affecting hog farmers and others in close contact with pigs in Malaysia and Singapore.
That outbreak killed more than 100 people in the two countries.
According to the World Health Organization, Nipah’s symptoms include fever, respiratory distress, headaches and vomiting. There is no treatment or vaccine for Nipah, a disease with a high mortality rate.