Nipah Virus

[LionKing]

It appears that Nipah Virus is affecting Bangal and Thailand authorities are concerned and screening passengers from India.

This virus is deadly, can spread and has no vaccine or cure.

I was wondering if Australia should be concerned which may affect travel plans similar to 2020?

I am super worried that me and my parents will need to be apart for another 3 years due to this kind of virus spreading and lockdown.

Nipah virus: Some Asia airports screen passengers after outbreak in India

Airports in Thailand and Nepal have begun screening passengers from West Bengal.

www.bbc.com

 

[aspro2]

World Health Organisation:

Transmission​

During the first recognized outbreak in Malaysia, which also affected Singapore, most human infections resulted from direct contact with sick pigs or their contaminated tissues. Transmission is thought to have occurred via unprotected exposure to secretions from the pigs, or unprotected contact with the tissue of a sick animal.

In subsequent outbreaks in Bangladesh and India, consumption of fruits or fruit products (such as raw date palm juice) contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats was the most likely source of infection.

There are currently no studies on viral persistence in bodily fluids or the environment including fruits.

Human-to-human transmission of Nipah virus has also been reported among family and care givers of infected patients.

During the later outbreaks in Bangladesh and India, Nipah virus spread directly from human-to-human through close contact with people's secretions and excretions. In Siliguri, India in 2001, transmission of the virus was also reported within a health-care setting, where 75% of cases occurred among hospital staff or visitors. From 2001 to 2008, around half of reported cases in Bangladesh were due to human-to-human transmission through providing care to infected patients.

Basic conclusion with relation to your question: transmission appears to require much closer contact with infectees than is the case for Covid or Measles or some other diseases.

 

[SYD]

World Health Organisation:



Basic conclusion with relation to your question: transmission appears to require much closer contact with infectees than is the case for Covid or Measles or some other diseases.

or close contact with an infected bat or something it's pee'd/poop'd on...

 

[Pushka]

With Covid and measles it was all about transmission. It's still alarming as I no longer trust any Government these days. I expect Indonesia will act soon too. Mind you we traveled during the swine flu epidemic and to Singapore during SARS.

 

[Quickstatus]

I was wondering if Australia should be concerned which may affect travel plans similar to 2020?

Travel from where to where ?.

 

[Hvr]

Another really good reason to buy travel insurance as soon as you book the ticket. If goodness forbid Nipah is the next pandemic then insurance will help recover funds.

 

[kpc]

Another article:

What to know about deadly Nipah virus amid India outbreak

Airports in South-East Asia are on alert after an outbreak of the disease, which has a 40 to 70 per cent fatality rate.

www.smh.com.au

This is the scary bit:
"According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, about 40 to 70 per cent of people who contract the Nipah virus die. There are no licensed treatments for Nipah, nor any vaccines available."

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Another really good reason to buy travel insurance as soon as you book the ticket. If goodness forbid Nipah is the next pandemic then insurance will help recover funds.

While it’s true that many policies cover Covid-19 (now that it’s not really an issue anymore), most policies still have a blanket exclusion on epidemics and pandemics. Which is what covid originally came under, and insurance didn’t cover.

The exclusion appears in most sections, like cancellation, additional expenses, medical cover, etc.

 

[SYD]

Another article:

What to know about deadly Nipah virus amid India outbreak

Airports in South-East Asia are on alert after an outbreak of the disease, which has a 40 to 70 per cent fatality rate.

www.smh.com.au

This is the scary bit:
"According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, about 40 to 70 per cent of people who contract the Nipah virus die. There are no licensed treatments for Nipah, nor any vaccines available."

No different to our home grown Hendra virus (which is an equally nasty piece of work).

 

[Pushka]

No different to our home grown Hendra virus (which is an equally nasty piece of work).

Yes but give health aurhorities and the media a cause and off they go. I hate bats.

In our heat there are groups of people trying to rescue the bats falling from the heat because, well, they don't belong in SA and have simply spread here from the east. Very recently too. Awful around the botanical gardens in the summer evening. We have Womadelaide in this location during Festival of Arts in Feb/March. There are biological bins placed around and teams go and pick up the dead bats safely and tell people not to touch them ungloved. Nature will take care of bats overpopulating but we humans can't seem to help ourselves.

 

[Rayesfeg]

While it’s true that many policies cover Covid-19 (now that it’s not really an issue anymore), most policies still have a blanket exclusion on epidemics and pandemics. Which is what covid originally came under, and insurance didn’t cover.

The exclusion appears in most sections, like cancellation, additional expenses, medical cover, etc.

You are right; however I would point out that travel insurance will cover you if you are diagnosed with the pandemic/epidemic.

General exclusions: any epidemic or pandemic, unless your claim relates to you or your travel companion being positively diagnosed as suffering a sickness recognised as an epidemic or pandemic, such as COVID-19, and cover is expressly included in the following sections: 1.1 Overseas emergency assistance 1.2 Overseas emergency medical 1.4 Evacuation & repatriation 2.1 Cancellation 3.1 Additional expenses

 

[LionKing]

Travel from where to where ?.

Between Australia and East Asia.

You know, border closures are hard to predict and it is worrying that you may get stuck or quarantined if things go worse.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You are right; however I would point out that travel insurance will cover you if you are diagnosed with the pandemic/epidemic.

Depends on the policy. Many policies will exclude cover if you are diagnosed with an illness related to an epidemic/pandemic, covid being an exception but that risk is low.

Which policy are you looking at? Might be worth exploring!

 

[Rayesfeg]

Which policy are you looking at? Might be worth exploring!

This was from the complimentary card insurance with Westpac Black Card. Point 15 on page 30.
Same for AMEX complimentary insurance but the wording is very confusing. See point 10 on page 23

 

[Pushka]

This was from the complimentary card insurance with Westpac Black Card. Point 15 on page 30.
Same for AMEX complimentary insurance but the wording is very confusing. See point 10 on page 23

Run that PDF through Chat GPT and ask it to check for Pandemic clauses.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

This was from the complimentary card insurance with Westpac Black Card. Point 15 on page 30.
Same for AMEX complimentary insurance but the wording is very confusing. See point 10 on page 23

With some caveats, those policies would appear to cover epidemics/pandemics. I think it was the Qantas one that didn’t?

But there’s also potentially a catch all that you must take general care and precaution, so if the virus is known to be in a particular area, there might be an obligation to avoid it.