India says two Nipah virus cases, but situation contained

MUMBAI: Indian authorities said they had ensured “timely containment” of the deadly Nipah virus after two cases were confirmed in West Bengal state.

Nipah, spreads from animals to humans, has no vaccine and a fatality rate ranging from 40 to 75 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

“Enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing, and field investigations were undertaken… which ensured timely containment of the cases,” India’s health ministry said in a statement late Tuesday.

It did not give further details on the two infected patients.

“The situation is under constant monitoring, and all necessary public health measures are in place”, it added, saying 196 contacts linked to the cases had been traced, and all were negative.

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.

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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.