Study finds unusual symptoms of pig-linked Nipah outbreak

Study finds unusual symptoms of pig-linked Nipah outbreak

SINGAPORE (AP): Victims of a deadly pig-linked virus that hit Malaysia and Singapore have displayed unusual symptoms such as having hallucinations of hogs running around their bed, Singapore's National Neuroscience Institute said Friday.

The Nipah virus, believed to be a form of encephalitis, has been blamed for at least 100 deaths in Malaysia and one in Singapore. It also resulted in the slaughter of nearly 1 million pigs believed to be carrying the disease in Malaysia.

The Singapore scientists "identified a particular set of symptoms and brain injuries that make the Nipah virus version of encephalitis stand out" from other known types of encephalitis, the institute said in a news release.

Some infected patients in the study developed mental states "ranging from clear mentation, to drowsiness, to hallucinations (of pigs running around the bed), to deep coma," the news release said.

Five of the seven Nipah patients studied "showed damage to their cerebellum, which is not normally affected by the other known viral encephalitis," the statement said.

The report has been published in this month's issue of "Annals of Neurology," a journal of the American Neurological Association, the statement said.

The stubborn new virus, which first spread from pigs to humans, has baffled those studying its origin and mode of transmission. Scientists recently determined that it might be spread through other animals, including horses, cats and dogs.