Bibliometric and Temporal Trend Analysis of Nipah Virus- An Emerging Zoonotic Disease: What Do We Know So Far

BackgroundNipah virus (Genus Henipavirus) was first detected in 1999, during the Malaysia-Singapore outbreak, and is an emerging bat-borne pathogen. It causes rare but fatal disease, with a 40-75% fatality rate, and clinically ranging from asymptomatic infection to fatal encephalitis. MethodsPublicly available literature, including preclinical and clinical studies, have been retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Bibliometric analysis was done using embedded tools of these search engines along with VOSviewer. Results601 documents from PubMed, 955 from Web of Science, and 784 from Scopus were analyzed, and we found that maximum contributions are from the USA, India, Malaysia, Australia, and Bangladesh, and in the past five years, there has been an exponential surge in the publication rate. More research and high-throughput screening are needed to explore drugs against critical targets and receptors like ephrin-B2, non-structural protein C, F protein, L protein, G glycoprotein, nucleocapsid protein, V protein, P protein, and W protein. Research for possible vaccination is underway, but the rate is not significant. Clinical studies in this direction are minimal, undermining the fatality of this lethal disease and possible outbreak. ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first bibliometric analysis of Nipah virus-related documents. It urgently demands expedited research in this direction before it is too late. Author SummaryNipah virus, a rare but deadly bat-borne pathogen, has gained increased attention in recent years. Our pioneering bibliometric analysis reveals a surge in research interest. This study underscores the pressing need for accelerated research on drugs and vaccines to combat this lethal disease and prevent potential outbreaks. Urgency is paramount.