Nipah alert in India: West Bengal moves to contain deadly virus

Nearly 100 people have been placed under home quarantine, while patients are receiving treatment in hospitals in and around Kolkata. One patient is reported to be in critical condition, according to local media.

Nipah is a highly lethal zoonotic virus with no approved vaccine or specific treatment. It is classified as a high-risk pathogen by the World Health Organization. Human infections are rare and usually occur when the virus spills over from fruit bats, often through contaminated food.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incubation period typically ranges from 4 to 21 days. Early symptoms are non-specific and resemble flu, including fever, headache, muscle pain and fatigue. In severe cases, patients develop encephalitis, leading to confusion, seizures or coma. The fatality rate varies between 40 and 75%, depending on the outbreak and viral strain.

Nipah virus spreads from animals to humans and can also be transmitted between people through close contact with bodily fluids. Fruit bats of the Pteropus species are the natural reservoir, while infections have also been linked to pigs during earlier outbreaks.

First identified in 1999 in Malaysia and Singapore, Nipah has since caused repeated outbreaks in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh and India. Kerala reported India’s first outbreak in 2018, followed by sporadic cases in subsequent years.

With no curative treatment available, patient care remains supportive. Health authorities stress prevention, including avoiding fruits or raw palm sap that may be contaminated by bats, practicing strict hygiene, and limiting close contact with infected individuals.

Earlier in January, Qazinform News Agency reported that cases of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2024, citing Zhanna Praliyeva, deputy head of the Astana sanitary and epidemiological control department.