Risk Factors for Nipah Virus Infection among Abattoir Workers in Singapore

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 181; no. 5; pp. 1760 - 1763
• Main Authors: Chew, Madeleine H. L., Arguin, Paul M., Shay, David K., Goh, Kee-Tai, Rollin, Pierre E., Shieh, Wun-Ju, Zaki, Sherif R., Rota, Paul A., Ling, Ai-Ee, Ksiazek, Thomas G., Chew, Suok-Kai, Anderson, Larry J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01.05.2000; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Abattoirs; Adult; Animals; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Case-Control Studies; Concise Communications; Disease Outbreaks; Disease transmission; Encephalitis; Encephalitis, Viral - diagnosis; Encephalitis, Viral - epidemiology; Encephalitis, Viral - transmission; Epidemiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Infections; Malaysia; Male; Microbiology; Nipah virus; Occupational Diseases - diagnosis; Occupational Diseases - epidemiology; Occupational Diseases - virology; Paramyxoviridae Infections - diagnosis; Paramyxoviridae Infections - epidemiology; Paramyxoviridae Infections - transmission; pneumonia; Pneumonia, Viral - diagnosis; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Pneumonia, Viral - transmission; Predisposing factors; Risk Factors; Singapore; Singapore - epidemiology; Slaughterhouses; Swine; Swine Diseases - transmission; Swine Diseases - virology; Tropical medicine; Virology; Viruses; Zoonoses - transmission; Asia; Malaysia; Singapore; Human; Lung disease; Encephalitis; Nervous system diseases; Pneumonia; Occupational disease; Respiratory disease; Epidemiology; Cerebral disorder; Paramyxoviridae; Infection; Virus; Paramyxovirinae; Mononegavirales; Viral disease; Central nervous system disease; Risk factor; Biological contamination; Paramyxovirus; Slaughterhouse
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/315443

During 10–19 March 1999, 11 workers in 1 of 2 Singaporean abattoirs developed Nipahvirus associated encephalitis or pneumonia, resulting in 1 fatality. A case-control study was conducted to determine occupational risk factors for infection. Case patients were abattoir A workers who had anti-Nipah IgM antibodies; control subjects were randomly selected abattoir A workers who tested negative for anti-Nipah IgM. All 13 case patients versus 26 (63%) of 41 control subjects reported contact with live pigs (P = .01). Swine importation from Malaysian states concurrently experiencing a Nipah virus outbreak was banned on 3 March 1999; on 19 March 1999, importation of Malaysian pigs was banned, and abattoirs were closed. No unusual illnesses among pigs processed during February–March were reported. Contact with live pigs appeared to be the most important risk factor for human Nipah virus infection. Direct contact with live, potentially infected pigs should be minimized to prevent transmission of this potentially fatal zoonosis to humans.