India seeks Australia’s help in battle against Nipah virus

Source: The post is based on the article “India seeks Australia’s help in battle against Nipah virus”  published in The Hindu on 16th September 2023

What is the News?

India has reached out to Australia seeking to restock monoclonal antibody doses to combat the Nipah virus.

What are Monoclonal Antibodies?

To fight a viral infection, our bodies create proteins known as antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies are artificial antibodies that mimic the activity of our immune systems. 

They are produced through a process that involves extracting specific antibodies from human blood and then cloning them.

These monoclonal antibodies are designed to target a virus or a specific part of one — for instance, REGEN-COV2 is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies developed to target the Covid-19 spike protein. 

The monoclonal antibodies bind to specific parts of the spike protein, blocking its ability to infect healthy cells.

Why is the government allowing the use of the monoclonal antibody for Nipah Virus?

First, there is no effective treatment for the infection other than relieving the symptoms.Once infected, the mortality can be a very high 40 to 75%.To compare, even at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the case fatality ratio (CFR) – proportion of people who die among those who test positive remained at around 3%.

Second, the monoclonal antibody has so far been used in 14 individuals globally and none of them died.