00:00Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been detected in India, prompting health authorities
00:05across South-East Asia as well as Australia to heighten their vigilance.
00:09The Nipah virus is very rare, but it's also very deadly.
00:13The World Health Organisation has classified Nipah as a priority pathogen due to its high
00:18fatality rate, lack of a known vaccine or treatment, and the fear that the virus could
00:23mutate and become more transmissible.
00:25We're also taking advice about anything extra we should do to protect Australians.
00:30It's very difficult to transmit from human to human, but if you do get it, the mortality
00:35rate is very, very high, between 40 and 75 percent.
00:39Although it can spread from person to person, it more commonly spreads to humans from infected
00:44bats or through the fruit contaminated by them.
00:48Authorities traced 196 contacts linked to the two cases, all of whom tested negative.
00:55Doctors said that the risk to the general public remained low as several vaccines continued
01:00to undergo testing.
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