India is stepping up efforts to contain a Nipah virus outbreak in West Bengal after five cases were confirmed, including infections among doctors and nurses.
Nearly 100 people have been placed under home quarantine, while those infected are being treated at hospitals in and around Kolkata.
According to Press Trust of India (PTI), the first two patients, including a male nurse and a female nurse working at a private hospital in South 24 Parganas district, remain in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Three additional cases were reported later, involving a doctor, a nurse, and a healthcare staff member. All three have been admitted to the infectious diseases hospital in Kolkata Beleghata area.
The Nipah virus, classified as a high-risk pathogen by the World Health Organization, is zoonotic in nature, meaning it spreads from animals to humans. It can also be transmitted through contaminated food or via direct human-to-human contact. The virus causes flu- like symptoms including fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, sore throat, dizziness and altered consciousness. These symptoms usually appear within four to 14 days.
India has reported Nipah cases almost every year. The virus is commonly found in certain bat species, particularly fruit bats. In humans, infection can range from asymptomatic cases to severe respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis. According to the World Health Organization(WHO), this virus has a mortality rate of 40 to 70 percent, making it one of the most dangerous viral infections.
Amid reports of cases in West Bengal, ANI quoted Governor C.V. Ananda Bose as saying on Thursday that immediate containment must be the government’s focus.
“It has to be contained first, and eradication should be the priority of the government. Everybody should join together to see that we take a strong stand against the Nipah virus and take all precautionary measures to protect people from it”, he told ANI.
Earlier, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda said the central government had launched a coordinated response following reports of suspected Nipah cases in the state. ANI reported that a National Joint Outbreak Response Team has been deployed to assist the West Bengal government in preventing the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, PTI reported that a bat survey conducted this week in West Bengal found no active Nipah virus infection. However, antibodies were detected in one bat, suggesting past exposure. The survey was carried out by the state forest department in collaboration with scientists from the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
“The findings are reassuring, but caution is warranted. Surveillance and prevention measures will continue until we are fully assured that there is no risk,” a senior official of the West Bengal Health Department said.
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