The ICDDR, B scientist said that the effectiveness of immunity in neutralizing the virus and its ability to protect newborns requires further exploration. “This (research) will also be a reference for vaccine recommendations for pregnant and young women against Nipah virus,” Dr Moinuddin said.
According to the World Health Organization, the worldwide mortality rate of the virus is estimated at 40% to 75%. ICDDR,B said it is around 71% in Bangladesh. Survivors of virus infection suffer from severe neurological complications, and there is a high chance that these symptoms gradually worsen when a survivor becomes pregnant.
how the study was done
ICDDR, B.
Both had a history of consumption of raw date palm juice and were confirmed cases of Nipah virus. At one point the daughter died from the virus, while the mother survived with significant residual neurological impairment.
The woman became pregnant in November 2021 and the National Nipah Surveillance Authority, ICDDR, B said she was undergoing antenatal surveillance. In August 2022, she gave birth to a healthy male child.
As part of the follow-up, samples were collected and tested for virus infection in the reference laboratory to exclude the possibility of transmission from the mother to the newborn boy.
The researchers found humoral immunity against the virus transferred from mother to child in the samples, as it tested negative for the virus in a rapid and PCR test and a high titer of anti-Nipah IgG, or immunoglobulin, was found.