[2] Preventive measures include avoiding exposure to bats and infected animals such as pigs, and not drinking raw date palm sap.

[8] The majority of the patients in Malaysia diagnosed with the disease were referred to and treated at the University of Malaya Medical Centre.

[1] Infected people initially develop symptoms that include fever, headaches, myalgia, vomiting and sore throat.

[1] The initial case in human outbreaks of Nipah virus has always been zoonotic[8] from exposure to contaminated secretions or tissues of infected bats or pigs.

[1] Most experts do not classify Nipah virus as airborne, though there is consensus that transmission can—and does—occur from short-range exposure to NiV-infected respiratory droplets in close contact settings.

[10] Indirect transmission of Nipah virus via contaminated fomites is likely responsible for many cases in which there was no known direct contact with a NiV-infected person or animal.

[11][12] During acute and convalescent stages of the disease, RNA can be detected using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from throat swabs, cerebrospinal fluid, urine and blood analysis.

The likelihood of infection through animal transmission can be reduced by avoiding exposure to sick pigs, and to bats where the disease is endemic.

[1] These include isolating patients, using personal protective equipment (PPE), and maintaining strict hand hygiene practices.

[17] In January 2024 a candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 NipahB, commenced Phase I clinical trials after completing laboratory and animal testing.

M 102.4 is a nonpatented monoclonal antibody developed by Christopher C. Broder, a professor of immunology and microbiology at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland.

[22] Those who survive the initial infection often struggle with debilitating long-term neurological sequelae, including memory loss, impaired cognition, seizures, convulsions, and personality changes.

The highest mortality due to Nipah virus infection was found in Bangladesh,[citation needed] where outbreaks are typically seen in winter.

[58][59] In 2013, the anti-malarial drug chloroquine was shown to block the critical functions needed for maturation of Nipah virus, although no clinical benefit was observed.

[4] Passive immunization using a human monoclonal antibody, m102.4, that targets the ephrin-B2 and ephrin-B3 receptor-binding domain of the henipavirus Nipah G glycoprotein was evaluated in the ferret model as post-exposure prophylaxis.