UVA infectious disease expert Dr. William Petri explains how the virus spreads and why health officials are on high alert.

The Nipah virus isn’t new and, according to World Health Organization (WHO), has been recognized since 1999 following an outbreak in Malaysia. However, with that said, there is no cure for the disease, and it has a scarily high fatality rate of 40-75 per cent, though there is limited treatment, which is often intensive care.

Health experts warn that bird flu, mpox, rubella and Oropouche virus could trigger the next global pandemic as vaccine rates hit a 15-year low and the world remains 'essentially unprepared'