COVID-19 Report - 20

CASE STUDY 3: THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
IN THE NIPAH VIRUS OUTBREAK IN 1998
Suspected host species:
Fruit bats (reservoir),
pigs (intermediate) 79

Number of deaths:

105

(1998 outbreak)80;

260

Nipah is a relatively unknown virus, which was first
reported in 1998 during an outbreak among pig farmers
in Malaysia. Despite receiving relatively little media
attention, the World Health Organization has listed
Nipah virus as one of the 10 most important pathogens
to monitor and research to reduce the risk of a future
pandemic.83 The virus is often fatal in both pigs and
humans, with a 40 per cent mortality rate during the
initial outbreak in Malaysia that resulted in 105 deaths,
mostly of farm labourers working on pig farms.84
Research suggests that the spillover of Nipah from bats to
pigs and then to humans during the 1998 outbreak likely

WWF INTERNATIONAL 2020

Estimated economic impact:
(2001-2018)81

US$671

million (1998 outbreak)82

resulted from the intensification of pig husbandry and mango
production.85 Between the 1970s and the 1990s, both pig
and mango production tripled in Malaysia, encroaching into
natural ecosystems.86 Farmers typically planted mango trees
alongside pig enclosures, which attracted fruit bats (known
carriers of the virus) to the area. Scientists believe that pigs
may have consumed fruit contaminated with bat saliva or
urine, leading to the spillover of the virus.87
At the farm where the first cases occurred, thousands of
pigs were kept in close proximity, and likely with limited
bio-safety regulations, enabling rapid transmission of the
virus within the population and resulting in the spillover



COVID-19 Report

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http://europe.nxtbook.com/nxteu/wwfintl/dalbergreport2013-fr
http://europe.nxtbook.com/nxteu/wwfintl/dalbergreport2013
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