NEW YORK – University of Texas scientists have discovered a vaccine that could protect people against the deadly Nipah virus in just three days.

Nipah is a zoonotic virus (one that spreads from animals to humans) that can be communicated through contaminated food or by direct contact with secretions. In India, the virus has caused three outbreaks in the last four years, killing over 20 people, including a 12-year-old child from Kerala.

Nipah virus infection spreads through respiratory droplets, similar to Covid. It is, however, significantly more deadly, killing up to three-quarters of those infected. The World Health Organization has also named it as one of the viruses most likely to cause the next pandemic (WHO).

The experimental vaccine was given to African green monkeys three to seven days before they were exposed to a strain of the Nipah virus. All vaccinated monkeys were protected from lethal disease, according to the studies, which were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The experimental vaccine was found to be "safe, immunogenic, and effective at protecting the monkeys from a high dose of Nipah virus given shortly after immunisation," according to Thomas W. Geisbert of the University of Texas Medical Branch's Department of Microbiology and Immunology.