Nipah virus immunity transfers from mother to child in Faridpur

In a first in the world, scientists have confirmed a case of transferring of immunity against Nipah virus (NiV) from a mother to her newborn child in Bangladesh’s Faridpur.

The findings by researchers of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) and Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control And Research (IEDCR) have been published in the journal of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease on December 27, 2022.

The scientists confirmed the transfer of humoral immunity against NiV from mother to newborn baby for the first time.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the mortality rate for NiV is estimated at 40% to 75%. According to IEDCR, the rate is about 71% in Bangladesh.

The survivors of NiV infection suffer from severe neurological complications. Moreover, there is a high possibility of these symptoms worsening progressively when a survivor becomes pregnant.

The case in Faridpur  

Icddr,b said in January 2020, a baby girl aged below five years and her mother from in Faridpur were infected with NiV. It is suspected that they were infected after drinking raw date palm sap.

The virus eventually killed the daughter but the mother survived despite suffering significant residual neurological impairment. She later conceived in November 2021 and was under thorough antenatal follow-up by the National Nipah surveillance authority.

In August 2022, she gave birth to a  healthy baby boy. As part of the follow-up, specimens were collected from both and tested for NiV infection at the reference laboratory to exclude vertical transmission.

Although the child tested negative for anti-Nipah IgM and PCR for NiV, a high titer of anti-Nipah IgG was observed.

The transfer of humoral immunity against NiV from the mother to the neonate was confirmed for the first time.

A beginning of a journey

Researchers are hailing the discovery as a significant headway in NiV neutralisation.

Dr Syed Moinuddin Satter, assistant scientist and deputy project coordinator of icddr,b’s Emerging Infections, Infectious Diseases Division, who led the research, said, “To best of our knowledge, this finding is the first to report the vertical transfer of NiV-specific immune properties. It warrants further exploration of its effectiveness in virus neutralisation and its potential to protect newborn children.”

“This will also be a reference for vaccine recommendations for pregnant and young women against the Nipah virus,” He added.

Director of IEDCR Professor Dr Tahmina Shirin, mentioning a section of people’s recent profound interest to consume raw date palm sap, said “People indulge in it without knowing the havoc it can create.”

Executive Director of icddr,b, Dr Tahmeed Ahmed said “icddr,b, in partnership with the IEDCR, has been running the world’s longest Nipah virus surveillance to detect Nipah virus outbreaks, understanding the disease transmission, and finding new knowledge and insights that can help develop therapeutics and vaccines against this deadly infection.

“The effort has been rewarding, and I hope we will soon have effective preventive measures and treatments, and be able to save lives.”