India says it has contained a Nipah outbreak after two healthcare workers infected

NEW DELHI – The latest outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal has been effectively contained, the Indian government said on Jan 27, with only

two confirmed cases reported so far.

It comes amid reports of several Asian countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia,

ramping up surveillance measures

at border entry points to screen potential carriers of the virus from India.

“The situation is under constant monitoring, and all necessary public health measures are in place,” the Indian government statement said, amid growing concern about the infection’s potential spread.

The authorities have not provided details about the two confirmed cases.

However, The Straits Times has learnt that the cases involved healthcare workers at a private hospital in Barasat, a city on the outskirts of Kolkata, the state’s capital.

Their infection was picked up through initial tests on Jan 11 and later confirmed on Jan 13.

Both reported fever and developed neurological complications because of encephalitis, which causes the brain tissue to swell. One patient has recovered, while the other is in critical condition and on a ventilator.

A total of 196 contacts linked to the two confirmed cases were traced and have tested negative for the disease. No Nipah cases have been reported outside India following the latest outbreak in the country.

The Nipah virus is a zoonotic one,

meaning it can jump from an animal to humans. It can be transmitted when humans come in close contact with infected animals such as fruit bats.

Human infections also may result from the consumption of fruits or fruit products, such as raw date palm sap, contaminated by infected animals. Human-to-human transmission may occur as well through close contact with people’s secretions and excretions.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, vomiting, cough, breathing difficulties, seizures, confusion and disorientation. They appear typically after an incubation period of five to 14 days. The disease has a high fatality rate ranging from 40 per cent to 75 per cent, as there is no vaccine or medicine to treat it.

The Nipah virus is named after the Malaysian village of Sungai Nipah in Negeri Sembilan, about 70km south of Kuala Lumpur, where the first outbreak of the disease was identified among pig farmers in 1998. Some 265 cases, with 105 deaths, were recorded and over a million pigs were culled nationwide.

The virus was subsequently imported to Singapore via live pigs in March 1999 and led to 11 cases, with one death among abattoir workers.

Though the virus is most commonly reported in fruit bats and pigs, it can infect other animals like sheep, goats, dogs and horses as well.

India has seen a total of eight Nipah outbreaks since 2001, including the latest one in West Bengal. The latest outbreak is the first documented Nipah infection in West Bengal since 2007, when five cases were reported. All five of them had died.

Dr Sayantan Banerjee, an infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani, in West Bengal, told ST that the current outbreak in the state was likely the result of a “bat-to-human spillover”.

The probable primary case, he said, was a 55-year-old woman in the state who had consumed raw date palm sap. She developed fever as well as acute respiratory distress syndrome, and died on Dec 22, 2025.

The two healthcare workers most likely contracted the infection while looking after her without following adequate safety precautions at the hospital.

Dr Banerjee has been involved in the detection and clinical management of the recent Nipah virus cases reported in West Bengal.

It was a late night consultation on Jan 10 regarding the condition of the two infected healthcare workers that led him to suspect “high-consequence viral encephalitis”.

This set off a chain of prompt on-site clinical evaluation, collection of multiple samples, and emergency molecular testing that eventually confirmed the two workers had been infected by the virus.

Various West Bengal state and central health agencies have collectively rolled out enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing and field investigations, helping contain the spread of the infection.

People have been advised to avoid consuming raw date palm sap, fresh palm juice and anything possibly contaminated by bats, including fruits found on the ground in areas where bats live. They have also been warned to avoid close contact with any person reporting fever, severe respiratory symptoms and altered mental states.

Experts say early diagnosis, isolation and contact tracing are crucial in preventing the spread of the Nipah virus.

“The risk to the general public is typically low, but health systems must remain vigilant for severe fever, respiratory and neurological syndromes,” added Dr Banerjee.

What Asia is doing to stop the virus spread

Thailand: Since Jan 25, Thailand has screened more than 1,700 air passengers arriving from Kolkata. The authorities have also asked three hospitals to prepare isolation facilities and specialist teams, in case suspected or confirmed cases are detected.

Malaysia: The Health Ministry continues to screen passengers at international entry points. Malaysia Airports corporate communications general manager Shukreen Ma told The Straits Times on Jan 28 that all terminal staff must now wear masks as a precautionary measure.

Perak, which accounts for 60 per cent of Peninsular Malaysia’s live pig supply, has not reported any Nipah cases so far. Datuk Sivanesan Achalingam, the state executive councillor in charge of health, said the government is keeping a close watch. “I have called the Department of Veterinary Services to meet with me to further discuss the issue,” he told ST on Jan 27.

Sarawak-based Green Breeder, which supplies 3,000 live pigs weekly to Singapore, has also imposed strict biosecurity measures to protect its livestock from the Nipah virus. “Even fruit trees are not allowed within the vicinity of the farm so as not to attract bats that can transmit the virus,” its director Veronica Chew told ST, noting that trees have been cut down. The company is currently the sole live pig supplier to the Republic.

Indonesia: Authorities at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have intensified health monitoring of international travellers amid growing global concerns over the Nipah virus. The airport has set up checkpoints throughout the terminals, equipped with thermal scanners and staffed by medical personnel conducting visual inspections.

Vietnam: The Ministry of Health has called for nationwide enhanced monitoring and detection of suspected cases at border gates, medical facilities and in the community for timely management, admission and treatment.

China: Disease-control authorities have stepped up risk assessments, professional training for medical and public-health personnel, and monitoring at healthcare and disease-control institutions, with particular emphasis on border and high-risk regions. Public education campaigns have also been rolled out.

Hong Kong: It has launched enhanced screening, targeting travellers arriving from India who show symptoms suggestive of Nipah infection, with prompt referral to hospitals for investigation if needed.

Taiwan: The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control has advised the public to not visit Nipah-affected regions, and to avoid contact with bats and pigs and to refrain from consuming raw date palm sap. From March, Nipah virus infection will be classified as a Category 5 notifiable infectious disease, Taiwan’s highest alert level.