New Delhi: The risk of Nipah virus transmission in India remains low and there is no requirement for travel or trade restrictions, according to the global health body, which is closely monitoring the situation following the detection of two cases in West Bengal.
In its latest epidemiological update, the health body reported that the two confirmed cases involved 25 year old nurses, a woman and a man, employed at the same private hospital in the North 24 Parganas district. Both healthcare workers developed initial symptoms in the last week of December 2025, which rapidly progressed to neurological complications. They were placed in isolation in early January after their condition worsened.
Following laboratory confirmation, health authorities initiated a comprehensive public health response. A total of 196 individuals identified as contacts of the two patients were traced, monitored, and tested. All of them have remained asymptomatic and tested negative for Nipah virus infection. No additional cases have been detected so far, and surveillance efforts continue in the affected district.
Amid concerns raised by reports of heightened airport screening measures in some countries, the health body reiterated that the overall risk of spread remains limited. It assessed the risk at the sub national level in parts of West Bengal as moderate due to the presence of fruit bat reservoirs along the India Bangladesh border and the possibility of occasional animal to human transmission. However, the national, regional, and global risk levels continue to be assessed as low.
Officials noted that the cases are confined to a single district, with no reported travel by the patients while symptomatic. Infection prevention and control measures have been intensified, and health authorities believe the likelihood of spread to other states or across international borders is low.
This incident marks the seventh recorded Nipah outbreak in India and the third in West Bengal, following earlier outbreaks in 2001 and 2007. Nipah is a zoonotic disease primarily transmitted from bats to humans, either directly or through contaminated food, and can also spread from animals such as pigs. In certain situations, person to person transmission may occur through close and prolonged contact, particularly in healthcare settings.
There is currently no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for Nipah virus infection. Preventive measures focus on reducing bat to human transmission by protecting food sources, avoiding fruits with signs of bat exposure, and limiting contact with areas where bats roost.
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