Post-mortem surveillance: an innovative strategy to detect and prevent spread of Nipah virus infection in humans
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Nipah virus (NiV) remains a persistent public-health threat in Bangladesh. The national sentinel surveillance system has operated since 2006, yet fatal infections that occur before assessment often go untested. We piloted a post-mortem surveillance component at three sentinel hospitals (December 2023-April 2024). Trained anthropologists obtained written informed consent from the next of kin. Oral swabs were collected non-invasively shortly after death and tested for NiV RNA by qRT-PCR at the national reference laboratory, using standard controls and established protocols. Specimens were handled in BSL-2 plus conditions on site and transported in liquid-nitrogen dry shippers per national SOPs. Where indicated by epidemiologic risk, shipments were prioritized for rapid testing. Of 246 deceased individuals screened, 10 met the suspected NiV case definition and were enrolled; all died after admission. One decedent tested NiV-positive (Ct value of 27.3), which activated same-day outbreak investigation by IEDCR's National Rapid Response Team. Contacts (close contacts and one same-source exposed individual) were traced and tested (RT-qPCR/IgM acutely; IgG at 6 weeks); no secondary cases were detected. Operational timelines (death → enrolment → collection → testing) demonstrated that post-mortem sampling and confirmation can be completed rapidly within routine hospital workflows. Post-mortem oral-swab testing is feasible, acceptable, and operationally compatible with Bangladesh's national surveillance system. While not intended to improve detection among living patients, this non-invasive approach closes a critical gap by identifying previously untested fatal infections and providing a trigger for timely public-health response. Scaling this approach across sentinel sites could strengthen early detection and outbreak control in NiV-affected regions.
Source: Emerging Microbes & Infections
Authors: Wasik Rahman Aquib, Dewan Imtiaz Rahman, Fawzia Akhtar Jahan, Nabila Nujhat Chowdhury, Sunanda Bosu, Fateha Akther Ema, Smita Sarker, Md. Nazmul Sakib, Faruq Abdulla, Anika Farzin, Pronesh Dutta, Ariful Islam, Shah Jawad Bin Mahmood, Shadman Sakib Choudhury, Ayesha Siddika, Md. Mahfuzur Rahman, Muhammad Rashedul Alam, Mintu Chowdhury, Md. Sazzad Hossain, Tonmoy Sarkar, Kamal Ibne Amin Chowdhury, Mohammad Enayet Hossain, Sharmin Sultana, Ahmed Nawsher Alam, Mahbubur Rahman, Ariful Islam, John D. Klena, Christina Spiropoulou, Mohammed Ziaur Rahman, Jonathan H. Epstein, Sayera Banu, Emily S. Gurley, Stephen P. Luby, Joel M. Montgomery, Tahmina Shirin, Syed Moinuddin Satter
Institutions: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, Charles Sturt University, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University
Language: English
Topic: Virology and Viral Diseases
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,643
OpenAlex ID: W7124987009