An outbreak of the Nipah virus in India’s West Bengal state has raised concerns across parts of Asia, prompting some countries to tighten airport screening measures. India’s health ministry said two cases had been confirmed in West Bengal since December, both involving health care workers.
However, in a statement late Tuesday, the ministry said its had managed to contain the cases. “Enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing, and field investigations were undertaken… which ensured timely containment of the cases,” the ministry said, adding that 196 people who had contact with the patients have been traced and tested negative.
However, the outbreak has raised concerns, prompting some countries to tighten safety measures. Thailand has begun screening passengers at three airports receiving flights from West Bengal, while Nepal has introduced screening for arrivals at Kathmandu’s airport and at land border crossings with India.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that can spread from animals to humans and has a high fatality rate of between 40% and 75%. According to the World Health Organization, there is no vaccine for it. Nipah was first identified in 1998 after it spread among pig farmers in Malaysia.
In India, the first Nipah outbreak was reported in West Bengal in 2001. In 2018, at least 17 people died from Nipah in Kerala, and in 2023, two people died from the virus, also in the southern state.
Symptoms include intense fever, vomiting and a respiratory infection, but severe cases can involve seizures and brain inflammation that results in a coma. Fruit bats are the natural carriers of the virus and have been identified as the most likely cause of subsequent outbreaks.