Semen could carry Nipah virus for a few more weeks

The investigation found that NiV RNA was detected in semen even on day 26 POI, but was undetectable on day 42 and 59 POI.
A woman and her two children, wearing masks, walk past a poster of Virus, a movie based on the 2018 Nipah outbreak, on the Seaport-Airport road in Kochi on Thursday  | Arun Angela
A woman and her two children, wearing masks, walk past a poster of Virus, a movie based on the 2018 Nipah outbreak, on the Seaport-Airport road in Kochi on Thursday | Arun Angela

KOCHI: The scare created by Nipah may be dying down, but a study has found that the virus could stay active in male patients three weeks after blood and urine showed negative results as their semen could carry it. A team led by the Manipal Institute of Virology (MIV) head Govindakarnavar Arunkumar had investigated the persistence of the virus in patient’s semen, following the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode in May 2018 which had killed 16 people.

Experts from the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and State Directorate of Health Services had joined the investigation, which was done in the context of reports that Ebola and Zika virus persist in survivors’ semen and sexual transmission route. “We did the investigation as it was important to find the presence of virus in a human body and various risks of its transmission,” said Arunkumar.

Semen specimens from a male patient were periodically tested for the presence of Nipah during and after hospitalisation in May-July 2018. The samples were collected on days 16, 26, 42 and 59 post onset of illness (POI). The investigation report was published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal. The investigation found that NiV RNA was detected in semen even on day 26 POI, but was undetectable on day 42 and 59 POI.

“NiV was found in semen while there was no NiV RNA in his blood and urine on day 9 of POI. When compared to Ebola and Zika virus, Nipah virus persisted in semen for only four weeks. Further studies should be done to ascertain persistence of NiV in semen and sexual mode of transmission resulting in human to human spread of Nipah virus,” said Arunkumar, adding as they have not attempted virus isolation, it was not possible to confirm whether there was active multiplication of NiV in testes.

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