Indian health authorities have raised the alert level to maximum after confirming a fresh outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in West Bengal, where the bat-borne pathogen has already caused several deaths and is showing human-to-human transmission.
The West Bengal Health Department announced on January 28, 2026, that laboratory tests confirmed Nipah virus as the cause of recent fatalities in the Malda and Murshidabad districts. At least four confirmed deaths have been linked to the virus, with several more patients in critical condition showing symptoms of acute encephalitis (brain inflammation), high fever, headache, vomiting, respiratory distress, and rapid progression to coma within 24–48 hours of symptom onset.
The Nipah virus (NiV), a zoonotic paramyxovirus first identified in 1998–1999 in Malaysia and Singapore, has a documented case fatality rate of 40–75%, depending on outbreak strain and medical care access. There is no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment available; care is supportive only.
Transmission: Confirmed human-to-human spread in hospital and household settings, plus probable fruit bat (Pteropus spp.) to human transmission via contaminated date palm sap or direct contact with infected bats/pigs.
Symptoms: Fever, headache, vomiting, sore throat, cough → rapid deterioration to encephalitis, seizures, coma, and death. Incubation period: 4–14 days (up to 45 days in rare cases).
Current status: Contact tracing is underway for over 300 high-risk contacts. Several districts in northern West Bengal are under surveillance, with movement restrictions, school closures, and bans on raw date palm sap consumption imposed.
National & International Response: ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) has deployed rapid response teams and mobile labs, WHO has been notified and is providing technical support and Serum samples sent to NIV Pune and international reference labs for confirmation and sequencing.
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This is the fifth confirmed Nipah outbreak in India since 2001 (previous ones in West Bengal 2001 & 2007, Kerala 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023). Kerala’s swift 2018 response (contact tracing + infection control) limited deaths to 17 despite 18 confirmed cases.
Health officials are racing to contain the outbreak before it spreads further, especially with large population density and cross-border movement in the region.
By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
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