Dhaka, Jan. 16 -- In Bangladesh, winter is the traditional date palm sap gathering season and the raw sap is a popular drink in rural areas.
The deadliest Nipah virus (NiV) infection outbreak coincides with this season linked with this sap, appearing between December and May.
Infection is caused by the consumption of the raw sap of a date palm tree which has been contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats.
When the sap is consumed, the virus infects the human body. It has been prevalent in Bangladesh since 2001.
There has been a total of 335 people infected with it and 237 of those people have passed away as a result of infection.
In the last year, 11 cases including eight deaths have been reported across two divisions,...