Why is India’s Nipah virus outbreak spooking the world?

An outbreak of the Nipah microorganism successful India’s eastbound authorities of West Bengal has heightened concerns successful China and respective Southeast Asian countries, prompting them to tighten wellness screening operations astatine airports arsenic millions hole to question for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Since December 2025, two confirmed cases of the microorganism person been reported successful West Bengal, India’s wellness ministry said connected Wednesday.

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The ministry did not supply details astir the radical infected but noted that of a full of 196 contacts linked to the confirmed cases, “all traced contacts person been recovered asymptomatic and person tested negative”, for the virus.

“The concern is nether changeless monitoring, and each indispensable nationalist wellness measures are successful place,” the ministry added.

A territory wellness serviceman told Reuters that the 2 radical infected successful West Bengal successful precocious December were wellness workers. Both are being treated astatine a section hospital, the wellness serviceman said.

Is the caller outbreak of the microorganism a origin for concern?

Here’s what we know:

What is the Nipah virus?

The Nipah virus (NiV) is simply a zoonotic microorganism – a illness transmitted from animals specified arsenic effect bats and flying foxes to humans. It tin besides beryllium transmitted to humans via contaminated nutrient products oregon straight from idiosyncratic to person.

The microorganism tin beryllium deadly. It typically incubates successful the quality assemblage for 5 to 14 days, with symptoms occurring wrong 3 to 4 days.

It causes terrible respiratory and neurological illness successful humans, progressing from fever and headache to acute encephalitis (brain inflammation) successful terrible cases, Kaja Abbas, subordinate prof of infectious illness epidemiology and dynamics astatine the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Nagasaki University, said.

Symptoms tin besides see convulsions and intelligence confusion, and patients tin autumn into a coma wrong 24 to 48 hours successful terrible cases.

“The lawsuit fatality complaint is high, betwixt 40 percent and 75 percent, among radical infected with the Nipah virus,” Abbas told Al Jazeera.

However, the virus’s basal reproduction number, which is the expected fig of secondary infections stemming from a superior case, is “typically beneath one”, helium said. This suggests the microorganism spreads successful lone a constricted mode via human-to-human transmission and determination is simply a debased likelihood of the microorganism becoming a wide pandemic.

(Al Jazeera)

Where person outbreaks of the Nipah microorganism occurred before?

The archetypal known outbreak of NiV was reported successful 1998 erstwhile pig farmers and butchers successful Malaysia and Singapore contracted it from infected pigs. At slightest 250 radical were infected, with much than 100 deaths.

In 2014, NiV infections successful the Philippines were associated with the slaughter of horses and depletion of infected equine meat.

Since 2001, determination person been sporadic but recurring outbreaks successful South Asia, peculiarly successful Bangladesh and India.

According to the World Health Organization, outbreaks successful Bangladesh person been linked to humans consuming contaminated earthy thenar sap, having adjacent interaction with different people’s secretions and excretions, and caring for infected patients.

According to the WHO, the archetypal cases successful India were recorded successful West Bengal successful 2007 but an earlier outbreak was retrospectively identified successful the state’s Siliguri metropolis successful 2001. The 2001 Siliguri outbreak occurred successful a healthcare mounting wherever 75 percent of cases were of infirmary unit oregon visitors, the WHO said.

Since 2018, dozens of deaths person been reported successful India’s Kerala state, which is present regarded arsenic the world’s highest-risk portion for the virus.

The reasons for different outbreaks successful Indian states are unclear. Some aesculapian experts person suggested outbreaks whitethorn person been triggered by quality depletion of effect contaminated by bat saliva oregon urine, portion the Indian Council of Medical Research has suggested that portion the microorganism is chiefly dispersed by carnal contact, it whitethorn besides beryllium airborne.

According to Abbas, determination is nary wide grounds astir the origin of the latest outbreak successful West Bengal, which has occurred aft decades without outbreaks.

Abbas said the information that the 2 confirmed cases are some healthcare workers successful the aforesaid infirmary indicates a imaginable transmission from an infected but undiagnosed diligent to the healthcare workers astatine the hospital.

Field laboratory assistants drawback a bat to cod specimens for Nipah microorganism probe successful the Shuvarampur country of Faridpur, Bangladesh, connected September 14, 2021 [File: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

Is determination a vaccine for the virus?

According to the WHO, determination is presently nary approved attraction oregon vaccine disposable for radical infected by the microorganism oregon animals carrying the virus.

The University of Oxford has been conducting objective trials successful Bangladesh to trial a Nipah microorganism vaccine and launched the 2nd signifier of trials successful December 2025.

In the lack of approved vaccines, doctors person been treating patients with antivirals specified arsenic Ribavirin. According to the United States government’s Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), Ribavirin was utilized to dainty a tiny fig of patients successful a 1999 Nipah outbreak successful Malaysia, but its efficacy successful attraction remains unclear.

The CDC has said that the cause Remdesivir could besides assistance forestall Nipah “when fixed to exposed nonhuman primates”.

The Indian authorities of Kerala used Remdesivir during a 2023 outbreak which resulted successful an improved lawsuit fatality rate.

Which countries person announced enhanced screening for Nipah virus?

Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Malaysia person each tightened planetary airdrome screening.

Thailand’s wellness ministry told journalists that it has assigned peculiar parking bays for craft arriving from Nipah-affected countries, and passengers person been asked to implicit wellness declaration forms earlier immigration.

Thermal scanners person besides been installed astatine the Suvarnabhumi airdrome successful Bangkok to surface radical for fever and different symptoms of the virus.

Malyasia, Indonesia and Nepal person implemented akin measures astatine their planetary airports.

What is the champion mode to forestall the dispersed of this virus?

On Wednesday, Hong Kong regular The South China Morning Post reported that societal media channels successful China had been flooded with posts from radical expressing interest implicit the outbreak of the microorganism successful India.

“It’s truthful scary, particularly with the Spring Festival coming up. I don’t privation to acquisition different lockdown,” 1 societal media idiosyncratic said.

“Can’t we temporarily unopen the question transmission with India?” different idiosyncratic asked, according to the SCMP.

China’s authorities broadcaster, CCTV, reported that the state has not recorded immoderate Nipah microorganism cases truthful acold but warned that determination could beryllium risks of imported cases.

According to Abbas, however, the microorganism is not similar the COVID-19 microorganism which resulted successful yearlong lockdowns astir the satellite from 2020.

He said terrible cases of the Nipah microorganism could beryllium managed “through intensive supportive care”.

He added that too airdrome wellness screenings, countries should absorption connected promoting measures to forestall the virus, similar bully hygiene, due ventilation, avoiding crowds, staying location erstwhile ill, seeking timely aesculapian proposal and maintaining a steadfast manner to enactment immunity.

The WHO has besides provided guidelines for controlling the dispersed of the virus.

In particular, it stated successful a 2018 report, “decreasing bat entree to day thenar sap and different caller nutrient products” is required.

“Keeping bats distant from sap postulation sites with protective coverings [such arsenic bamboo sap skirts] whitethorn beryllium helpful. Freshly collected day thenar foodstuff should beryllium boiled, and fruits should beryllium thoroughly washed and peeled earlier consumption. Fruits with motion of bat bites should beryllium discarded,” the WHO reported.

It added that radical should deterioration gloves and different protective covering portion handling sick animals oregon their tissues, and during slaughtering and culling procedures.

To power the dispersed of the microorganism successful healthcare settings, WHO said, “contact and droplet precautions should beryllium utilized successful summation to modular precautions. In immoderate cases, “airborne precautions” whitethorn besides beryllium required.

“Close unprotected carnal interaction with Nipah virus-infected radical should beryllium avoided. Regular manus washing should beryllium carried retired aft caring for oregon visiting sick people,” the WHO added.