China has initiated screening of travelers arriving from Nipah virus outbreak areas, including India, with swab tests being conducted. While no cases have been detected in China and the risk is deemed low,

The Trump administration this week sent out an alert about the Nipah virus after two cases were confirmed in West Bengal, India

The virus has a fatality rate ranging from 40 per cent to 75 per cent, according to health experts. There is currently no approved vaccine or cure, making early containment and monitoring critical.

VV116 acts as a "prodrug" that suppresses viral replication. It essentially "jams" the machinery (RNA) the virus needs to replicate, effectively stopping the infection's lifecycle. Testing confirmed the drug's effectiveness against both the Malaysian (NiV-M) and the more virulent Bangladeshi (NiV-B) genotypes.

China's newly revised Frontier Health and Quarantine Law, which was implemented last year, included the Nipah virus in its monitoring protocols. Customs authorities conduct screenings for incoming travelers from affected areas, and any suspected cases must be immediately isolated and referred to designated medical institutions.

No Nipah virus cases had been detected in China as of Tuesday and the probability of infections in China remains low, the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration said in the wake of a recent outbreak in neighboring India.

The new ban is due to Bluetongue Virus (BTV), cases of which have been detected in four herds in County Wexford.

Chinese researchers have demonstrated that the oral nucleoside drug VV116, which is already approved for treating Covid-19 in China and Uzbekistan, exhibits significant activity against the Nipah virus,