Nipah Virus: UAE, Bahrain ban fruits, vegetables from Kerala

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United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have decided to restrict the import of fruits and vegetables, from Nipah virus affected Kerala, a southern state in India.

The deadly brain-damaging and contagious virus has claimed more than 15 lives in the last few weeks.

UAE ministry of climate change and environment (MOCCAE), in an order issued on late Tuesday, directed, “Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and the municipalities of Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah to prevent the entry of all kinds of fresh vegetables and fruits from Kerala” from immediate effect.

Middle East countries import mangoes, dates, bananas and a range of vegetables from the southern states of India. Fruit-eating bats, belonging to Pteropodidae family, spread the Nipah virus, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

Ministry claimed that their decision is based on the information received and published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding virus outbreak in Kerala.

“Preliminary information indicates that the main host of the disease is the fruit bat, where the virus is transmitted through secretions from the bat to the fruit that it feeds on or touches,” ministry’s statement maintained.

There is no vaccine to control transmission of the virus from animals to humans. The medical teams rushed to Kerala, ascertained Perambra region of Kozhikode district as the source of the outbreak. The team collected samples from more than 116 suspected cases in the last two weeks and sent for pathological investigations.

Bahrain also imposed a temporary ban on fruit and vegetable imports from Kerala. The government of Bahrain shot off a letter to India’s agriculture ministry last week apprising about the restriction on agricultural products from virus affected state.

“We ask you to take all necessary measures to ensure that no phytosanitary certificates for fruits and vegetables originated in Kerala region shall be issued to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Any consignment from Kerala region shall be re-exported or destroyed,” the letter from Bahrain government, reviewed by Business Standard, said.

Fruits and vegetable exports are a significant revenue earner for India. In the last financial year, country’s fruit exports stood at 1.61 billion US dollars during the April-February period.

Meanwhile, UAE has also banned imports of live animals from South Africa. The decision is fueled after WHO issued a notification of Rift Valley Fever disease outbreak in the country.

MOCCAE letter said import of live animals and their non-heat-treated by-products from the infected Letsemeng province had been banned till further notice.

Mosquitoes primarily spread the disease. There is a possibility of humans getting infected with the Rift Valley Fever if they come in contact with the body fluid of diseased animals.

[Top Image: Doctors and relatives wearing protective gear carry the body of a victim, who lost his battle against the brain-damaging Nipah virus, during his funeral at a burial ground in Kozhikode, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, India, May 24, 2018. /VCG Photo]