A 23-year-old student has contracted the lethal Nipah virus which resulted in 17 deaths in southern India last year.

The virus, which has no known vaccine, is an infectious disease that can cause an inflammation of the brain, according to the World Health Organization. As a result, it is on the institution's "priority pathogen" list alongside Ebola.

Read More: India on alert as Nipah virus claims victims

Despite four other people showing Nipah-like symptoms, Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said: "There is no need for panic."

The contagious virus can be caught from bats or pigs and takes its name from Sungai Nipah, the Malaysian settlement where it was first identified.

There was an initial outbreak of the disease, which killed in excess of 100 people across Malaysia and Singapore, in the late 1990s. In an attempt to prevent infections spreading, approximately one million pigs were terminated, drastically affecting the Malaysian pig farming industry.

It has a mortality rate of 70 per cent and its symptoms include fever, headaches, convulsions and difficulties in breathing.

jsi/rc (Reuters, dpa)

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