Md. Babul Hossain, 38, a resident of Manikganj, succumbed to the Nipah virus recently. Just days prior, 27-year-old Lutfar Rahman from the same district died under similar circumstances. Although there was no official confirmation of Nipah virus in Lutfar's case, according to the Upazila Health and Family Planning Center, the situation has sparked panic. Not only for Manikganj, but it is a matter of concern for Bangladesh, given the vulnerability to this virus in recent years. It is imperative to acquire accurate knowledge about Nipah virus infection and take appropriate action to prevent its spread. To prevent infection, let's understand how the Nipah virus spreads and identify its sources. What is the Nipah Virus? Nipah virus, in short NiV, is one of many types of zoonotic viruses. A zoonotic virus refers to a virus that can be transmitted between vertebrates and humans. While the potential carriers of NiV are numerous, its presence has been observed primarily in pigs and bats. Specifically, the carrier of NiV is fruit bats of the genus Pteropus, commonly known as the flying foxes. Pteropus is among the largest species of bats globally. They are commonly found in Southeast Asia, India, South Asia, Australia, East Africa, and the Pacific Islands. Read more: After father-in-law, woman dies of ‘Nipah virus’ in Naogaon How is the Nipah Virus Spread? The essential genetic material in an animal's body is RNA or ribonucleic acid. NiV primarily infects the entire animal by targeting this RNA. Subsequently, when another animal comes into contact with the infected one, the viral RNA spreads to the healthy animal. The contact can be made through various mediums, such as - Direct contact with infected animals, such as bat blood, saliva, vomit, or feces, poses a risk. - Location of palm trees near yards, water wells, agricultural fields, or domestic animal shelters, can enhance the risks of contamination. - Consumption of food or water contaminated with body fluids of NiV infected animals, such as palm sap and water from wells contaminated by bats, or partially eaten fruits by bats, can also facilitate the transmission of Nipah virus. - Contact with an NiV infected person, involving exposure to blood, spit, sneezes, vomit, feces, or even respiratory droplets, is another route of Nipah virus transmission. Several incidents in Bangladesh and India proved that NiV is airborne and moderately contagious. Read more: Suspected Nipah virus patient dies in Barishal Most Vulnerable Communities to Nipah Virus Outbreaks While human-to-human transmission was not initially reported, this phenomenon is being increasingly observed, especially in Bangladesh and neighboring countries like India. Hospital workers caring for patients infected with Nipah virus, family members of patients, and individuals involved in palm juice harvesting are now at the highest risk.

Bangladesh reported two more Covid-linked deaths with 2,101 new infections in 24 hours till Monday morning, said the health directorate. The new figures took the country’s total death toll to 29,142 while caseload to 19,67, 274, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The country last reported 2,150 cases on February 19 with 13 deaths when the daily positivity rate was at 9 per cent. The daily-case positivity rate slightly declined to 15.20 per cent from Sunday’s 15.66 per cent as 13,820 samples were tested during the period, said the DGHS. Also read: Health Minister concerned over uptick in Covid, urges return to protocols The deceased included a woman and a man, both from Dhaka division. On Sunday, the country recorded 1,680 cases with two deaths from Covid-19. Of the five deaths reported from June 20 to June 26, some 77.8 per cent received vaccine against Covid-19 while 22.2 per cent did not. Several of them had one or two comorbidities. Comorbidity means the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient. The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.48 per cent. The recovery rate declined to 96.93 per cent from Sunday’s 97.02 per cent as 179 patients recovered during this period. In May, the country reported only four Covid-linked deaths and 816 new cases, while 7,356 patients recovered from the disease, according to the DGHS. Among the four deaths during the period, one was vaccinated with a single dose of Covid vaccine while three were vaccinated with two doses. Also read: 12 SC judges contract Covid-19 The country reported its first zero Covid death in a single day on November 20 last year, along with 178 cases, since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020. On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest positivity rate of 33.37 per cent. The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.  

The overall number of Covid cases is fast approaching 532 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world. According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 531,678,528 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,310,915 on Monday morning. Also read: N. Korea moves to soften curbs amid doubts over COVID counts The US has recorded 85,716,214 cases so far and 1,031,273 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows. India's COVID-19 tally rose to 43,153,043 on Sunday, as 2,828 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data. Besides, 14 deaths from the pandemic registered across the country since Saturday morning took the total death toll to 524,586. Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh registered 40 new Covid cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning taking the country's total caseload to 1,953,447, health authorities said. The country's total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,130 with no new Covid deaths reported during the period. Also read: Lights of Vivid to return to Australia in COVID-19 revival The daily test positivity rate slightly dropped to 0.79 percent from Saturday's 0.83 percent as 5,093 samples were tested, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.49 percent. The recovery rate rose to 97.39 percent as 215 patients recovered during this period.

Bangladesh reported 30 more Covid-linked deaths with 9,052 fresh cases in 24 hours till Friday morning. The daily positivity rate further dropped to 22.95 percent from Thursday’s 25.86 per after testing 39,445 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). On Thursday, Bangladesh reported 33 Covid-linked deaths with 11,596 fresh cases. The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,494 while the caseload mounted to 1,835,776. Among the new deceased, 19 were men and 11 women. READ: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 33 more deaths with 11,596 fresh infections Seventeen deaths were reported in Dhaka division while five in Chattogram, three in Sylhet, two in each Rajshahi and Khulna, and one in Barishal divisions. Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained the same as 1.55 per cent. However, the recovery rate also declined to 86.04 per cent with the recovery of 6,282 more patients during the 24-hour period. In January, the country reported 322 Covid-linked deaths and 2,13,294 new cases while 19,112 recovered from the disease, according to the DGHS. On January 28, Bangladesh logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 33.37% reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths. Bangladesh’s total tally of Omicron cases reached 69 with the detection of five more cases till January 23, according to GISAID, a global initiative on sharing all influenza data. On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing. The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020. Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year. Extension of restrictions The government has extended the period of the  existing restrictions on people’s movement and other activities until February 21 and imposed two new ones considering the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country. READ: Covid-19 restrictions extended until Feb 21  These restrictions will remain in force from February 7 to 21, said a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Thursday. The new restrictions are- gathering of more than 100 people in social, political, religious or state events will not be allowed in open places or indoors and  those who will attend the events must bring Covid Vaccination Certificate or report of RT PCR test underwent within 24 hours. Besides, in-person classes of schools, colleges and equivalent educational institutions will remain suspended during this period, said the notification. On Tuesday, the government extended the closure of secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions by two weeks until February 20. Amid the growing concern over the Coronavirus’ new Omicron variant, the government on January 13 imposed 11-point restrictions.

Bangladesh reported 33 more Covid-linked deaths with 11,596 fresh cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning. The daily positivity rate further dropped to 25.86 per cent from Wednesday's 27.43 per cent after testing 44,843 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). On Wednesday, Bangladesh reported 36 more Covid-linked deaths with 12,193 fresh cases. The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,494 while the caseload mounted to 1,835,776. Among the new deceased, 22 were men and 11 women. Eighteen deaths were reported in Dhaka division while six in Khulna, four in Rajshahi, two each in Chattogram Sylhet and one in Rangpur divisions. Also read: Covid-19 restrictions extended until Feb 21 Meanwhile, the mortality rate further declined to 1.55 per cent. However, the recovery rate also declined to 86.13 per cent with the recovery of 5,955 more patients during the 24-hour period. In January, the country reported 322 Covid-linked deaths and 2,13,294 new cases while 19,112 recovered from the disease, according to the DGHS. On January 28, Bangladesh logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 33.37% reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths. Bangladesh’s total tally of Omicron cases reached 69 with the detection of five more cases till January 23, according to GISAID, a global initiative on sharing all influenza data. On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing. The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020. Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year. Also read: Covid surge: Closure of schools, colleges extended until Feb 20 Extension of restrictions The government has extended the period of  the  existing restrictions on people’s movement and other activities until February 21 and imposed two new ones considering the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country. These restrictions will remain in force from February 7 to 21, said a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Thursday. The new restrictions are- gathering of more than 100 people in social, political, religious or state events will not be allowed in open places or indoors and  those who will attend the events must bring Covid Vaccination Certificate or report of RT PCR test underwent within 24 hours. Besides, in-person classes of schools, colleges and equivalent educational institutions will remain suspended during this period, said the notification. On Tuesday, the government extended the closure of secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions by two weeks until February 20. Amid the growing concern over the Coronavirus’ new Omicron variant, the government on January 13 imposed 11-point restrictions.

Bangladesh logged five more Covid-linked deaths and reported 221 fresh infections in 24 hours till Friday morning. The daily-case positivity rate slightly increased to 1.28 per cent from Thursday’s 1.21 per cent. Read:Uber to provide 50,000 free rides for Covid vaccine seekers in Dhaka The fresh numbers took the total fatalities to 27,912 while the country’s caseload mounted to 1,572,127, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). All the deceased were men.  However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 per cent. The fresh cases were detected after testing 17,282 samples, said the DGHS. Besides, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.71 per cent with the recovery of 219 more patients during the period. Read: Two Bangladeshi companies get DGDA nod for marketing oral Covid drug On Thursday, the country saw just a single death from Covid-19 again which was the lowest in nearly 18 months along with 237 cases. So far, 3,25,34,617 people have fully been vaccinated in the country while 5,11,21,705 received the first dose as of Thursday, according to the DGHS.

Amid warning of tough days ahead with surging Covid-19 infections, the director of the National Institutes of Health said Sunday the US could decide in the next couple of weeks whether to offer Covid booster shots to Americans this fall. Among the first to receive them could be health care workers, nursing home residents and other older Americans. Dr Francis Collins also pleaded anew for unvaccinated people to get their shots, calling them "sitting ducks" for a delta variant that is ravaging the country and showing little sign of letting up. "This is going very steeply upward with no signs of having peaked out," he said. Federal health officials have been actively looking at whether extra shots for the vaccinated may be needed as early as this fall, reviewing case numbers in the US "almost daily" as well as the situation in other countries, where preliminary studies suggest the vaccine's protection against serious illness dropped among those vaccinated in January. No US decision has been made because cases here so far still indicate that people remain highly protected from Covid-19, including the delta variant, after receiving the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna regimen or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But US health officials made clear Sunday they are preparing for the possibility that the time for boosters may come sooner than later. READ: Pfizer to seek OK for 3rd vaccine dose; shots still protect "There is a concern that the vaccine may start to wane in its effectiveness," Francis said. "And delta is a nasty one for us to try to deal with. The combination of those two means we may need boosters, maybe beginning first with health care providers, as well as people in nursing homes, and then gradually moving forward" with others, such as older Americans who were among the first to get vaccinations after they became available late last year. He said because the delta variant only started hitting the US hard in July, the "next couple of weeks" of case data will help the US make a decision. Moderna President Stephen Hoge said seeing some "breakthrough" infections emerge among the vaccinated within six months has been surprising, even if most symptoms so far have not been life-threatening. "I think that suggests we are going to need booster vaccines to get through the winter." Last week, the Food and Drug Administration said people with weakened immune systems can get an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to better protect them as the delta variant continues to surge. "If it turns out as the data come in, we see we do need to give an additional dose to people in nursing homes, actually, or people who are elderly, we will be prepared to do that very quickly," said Dr Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser. The US is now seeing an average of about 129,000 new infections a day – a 700% increase from the beginning of July – that number could jump in the next couple weeks to 200,000, a level not seen since among the pandemic's worst days in January and February, Francis said. Both he and Fauci stressed that the best way to stem the virus is for the unvaccinated to get their shots. Currently, about 60% of the US population has gotten at least one dose and nearly 51% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Areas with low vaccination rates have been particularly hit hard with infections, such as Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Mississippi. The rapidly escalating surge in infections across the US has caused a shortage of intensive care unit beds, nurses and other front-line staff in virus hotspots that can no longer keep up with the flood of unvaccinated patients. READ: Pfizer studying effects of 3rd vaccine dose Health officials also warn that more children who are not yet eligible for vaccines could get infected, though it is not clear whether the delta variant leads to more severe illness among them.

Nepal has significantly reduced coronavirus infections after its worst outbreak, which overwhelmed the country’s medical system, but is in desperate need of vaccines, its health minister said Thursday. “We have gone down from the red stage to the yellow stage, but are not yet able to reach the green zone,” Health Minister Sher Bahadur Tamang said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We are working very hard to get us there.” Nepal has been under lockdown since April after new cases and deaths spiked following a massive outbreak in neighboring India. Also read: Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as virus cases surge Close to 10,000 new cases and hundreds of deaths were reported daily in mid-May, when the surge was at its worst. There was an acute shortage of hospital beds, medicines and oxygen for patients. In the capital, Kathmandu, doctors treated patients in hospital corridors, verandahs and parking lots, and ambulances were turned back due to a lack of space. There were long lines at oxygen plants to fill cylinders. After weeks of lockdown, the situation has improved. The number of new cases on Thursday was 2,607 along with 39 deaths, according to the Health Ministry. Nepal launched a vaccination campaign in January but was forced to suspend it after India halted exports of domestically produced AstraZeneca vaccines because of its own outbreak. China then donated 800,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine in March and another 1 million earlier this month. Still, only about 8.5% of the population has received one shot and about 2.5% have been fully immunized. Also read: Bangladesh stands by Nepal in its Covid-19 crisis “The main issue for us is vaccines, and unless we get vaccines we cannot say everyone is safe,” Tamang said. “We have been appealing to all countries manufacturing vaccines to please provide us with some.” About 1.4 million elderly Nepalese received an initial dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March but now are unsure when they can get a second dose as the government struggles to acquire the vaccine. Tamang said the government has set aside funds to purchase vaccines, and both the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are providing money as well, so funds are not currently a problem. COVAX, the U.N.-backed project to supply vaccines to poor regions of the world, pledged Nepal 2 million doses by March but has only provided 248,000 because it also is facing a serious shortage. “We were supposed to get vaccines from the COVAX facility, but we feel like we have fallen to the lowest priority position on their list,” Tamang said. He said new regulations have been adopted to allow any vaccine producer to come to Nepal to run vaccine trials, and if possible produce them, with all fees waived. Also read: China cancels Everest climbs over fears of virus from Nepal With the emergency phase now over, the country needs to focus on improving its medical facilities and equipment to prepare for future disease outbreaks, Tamang said. He noted that Nepal has received planeloads of emergency supplies such as oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, face masks, gloves and other medical goods from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and Australia. “We are very thankful to all the donors who came to help us in our time of need but now we are urging the donors to please give us ICU beds, ventilators, X-ray machines and equipment to test for other diseases too,” Tamang said.

Twenty-nine people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in Thakurgaon in the last 24 hours till Wednesday.

Japan's health ministry and local governments said Thursday by 11:30 a.m. local time that one person infected by the COVID-19 virus had died in Osaka and three new cases were confirmed in Hyogo, Wakayama and Ibaraki prefectures, bringing the total number of cases to 924.