Antibody prevalence across all ages is currently being studied in an infected farm. All racehorses in the country have tested negative. Antibodies in dogs in other infected areas are also being studied. Cats Out of 23 cats tested in the affected area, one was seropositive. Rodents To date, serum samples from rats trapped in infected areas have all been negative.
Further tests are in progress.
Other animals Sera have also been collected from cattle, goats, sheep, squirrels, wild boar, wild birds, poultry and ostriches for later testing. With the discovery of the aetiology of the disease, a programme was developed for immediate eradication of the disease by mass culling of pigs. A surveillance programme was developed to detect previously infected farms by testing for the presence of pigs with antibodies to the Nipah virus. All farms outside the previously designated high risk areas will be screened by taking a statistically valid random sample of sows for detection of Nipah virus antibodies. However, farms found to be positive during the first or second tests will be depopulated.