Nipah virus may dent India's fruit exports, kills 10 in Kerala

A rare, brain-damaging virus has killed at least 10 people in Kerala, where medical crews are scrambling to manage the spread of the deadly disease — and to minimise panic. Fruit exporters are also more concerned about their falling prospects in the current season.

The deadly virus is contagious and currently has no vaccine for humans or animals.

The natural host of the virus is a fruit bat of the Pteropodidae family, according to the World Health Organization. A prominent member of the species, the Greater Indian Fruit Bat inhabits large patches of the South Asian subcontinent and may transfer