No new cases of the Nipah virus have been identified in India since September 15the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday after an outbreak that caused two deaths.

There is no vaccine against Nipah, whose mortality rate ranges from 40% to 75%, according to the WHO.

From September 12 to 15, India’s Ministry of Health reported six confirmed cases of the Nipah virusincluding two deaths, in the Kozhikode district of the southern state of Kerala.

Apart from the first case, whose sources of infection are unknown, the other cases were family members and hospital contacts, the WHO said.

As of September 27, 1,288 contacts of confirmed cases had been tracedincluding high-risk people and healthcare workers, who will remain in quarantine and under surveillance for 21 days, WHO said.

Since September 12, 387 samples have been tested, six of which tested positive for the Nipah virus and the remaining tested negative, the WHO said.

“No new cases have been detected since September 15,” he added.

Fruit bats are the natural hosts of the virus, which spreads to humans through contact with infected animals such as bats and pigs. It can also be spread by an infected person, although the WHO considers it less common.

Symptoms include severe fever, vomiting and respiratory infections, and severe cases can lead to seizures and encephalitis, brain swelling and coma.

The virus was first identified in 1998 after it spread among pig farmers in Malaysia. (JO)