Story Summary: In Bangladesh, people harvest the sweet sap of date palms by shaving part of the trunk, slicing a groove in it and attaching a collection pot. Nipah virus causes encephalitis, or brain inflammation, and infections prove fatal in about three-fourths of cases, says veterinarian M. Salah Uddin Khan, also of the ICCDR-Bangladesh, who will present the findings on November 21. Khans colleague Nazmun Nahar learned from villagers that handwoven bamboo skirts had been used from time to time to guard the sap-collection pots from fruit bats. The skirts cover the shaved part of the trunk and the top of the pot. The researchers attached skirts to 10 trees and left the other 10 unprotected, then examined the sap for evidence of bat contamination in the morning. The next night they reversed which trees got the bamboo skirts. Sap from a few of the skirt-equipped palms also was sullied, due to faulty skirt construction or placement. But 13 of 13 palms with intact, properly placed skirts yielded clean sap. Nipah virus is rare: There have been only 132 confirmed cases since the virus was identified in 1999, Khan says. The virus is named for the Nipah Valley in Malaysia, where it was first discovered. Clinical features of nipah virus encephalitis among pig farmers in Malaysia. Preventing Nipah virus transmissions: Understanding efficacy of bamboo skirt to impede palm sap contamination by bats (Abstract #687). Preventing Nipah virus transmissions: Understanding efficacy of bamboo skirt to impede palm sap contamination by bats (Abstract #687)….Read the Full Story

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