Deadly Nipah virus screening for Aussies visiting Bali

Australians heading to Bali should be prepared to be screened after cases of a deadly virus were confirmed in India.

Anyone heading off to Bali for a warm getaway can expect to be screened on arrival and departure after cases of the Nipah virus were detected in India.

Nipah virus can lead to “acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis”, according to the World Health Organisation, which estimates 40 to 75 per cent of cases are fatal.

There is currently no known medicine or vaccine available to treat the illness, which can be transmitted from human to human.

Health workers wearing protective gear shift the body of a person who died of a Nipah virus infection in India's Kerala state. Picture: AFP

Indonesian authorities have directed Balinese officials to spring in to action, as India is only behind Australia in terms of total visitor numbers to the holiday island.

Five cases have been detected in the southern Indian state of Kerala, with two of those proving fatal.

Head of the Bali Provincial Health Office I Nyoman Gede Anom has told local news outlet Republika that airports, including Denpasar, will be using temperature scanning devices.

“If a tourist is found to have a body temperature above normal, it will prompt further inquiry,” Mr Anom said.

Australians holidaying in Bali can expect to have their temperature screened at the airport following detection of the Nipah virus in India. Picture: Agung Parameswara / Getty Images

He confirmed there have been no cases detected in Bali, but said a team of neuroscience specialists was being assembled just in case.

“We must maintain vigilance due to the incubation period, which may mean a lack of fever upon arrival at the airport,” he said.

First detected in 1999, few studies have been conducted on Nipah virus.

Outbreaks in South East Asia have been linked to human contact with the secretions of infected pigs, or eating fruit which has come into contact with fluids of infected fruit bats.

Originally published as Deadly Nipah virus screening for Aussies visiting Bali