Nipah virus detected in West Bengal? Early symptoms and signs you must know

Two suspected cases of Nipah virus were detected in West Bengal’s Barasat, prompting the Centre to deploy a National Joint Outbreak Response Team to assist the state authorities for effective containment. According to officials, the two patients, a male nurse and a female nurse working at the same private hospital, were in critical condition and kept on a ventilator. They had gone home in East Midnapore and East Burdwan in December and fell ill.

“Two suspected cases of Nipah virus have been reported. They both worked in the same hospital and are now admitted there. We have started contact tracing,” said Nandini Chakravorty, chief secretary of West Bengal.

The samples of both patients have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for confirmation, a second official said. “While the Union health ministry has been alerted, the state’s chief secretary and the state health secretary held meetings with the chief medical officers of North 24 Parganas, East Burdwan, and East Midnapore.”

The Ministry of Health said in a statement on X, “Union Health Minister Shri JP Nadda assures the West Bengal Government of comprehensive technical, logistical and operational support following the detection of two suspected Nipah virus cases at ICMR-VRDL, AIIMS Kalyani.”

It added, “Immediate coordinated action has been initiated; laboratory support, enhanced surveillance, case management, IPC measures and expert guidance have been mobilised. Shri Nadda spoke with Chief Minister Smt. Mamata Banerjee, underscoring close Centre–State coordination. A National Joint Outbreak Response Team has been deployed and standard protocols shared to ensure effective containment.”

What is Nipah virus and what are its symptoms?

Nipah (NiV) is a zoonotic virus. That is, it is a virus that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Evidence cited in medical journals shows that fruit bats and pigs host the virus, which can lead to serious illness in both animals and humans.

In all the outbreaks of Nipah virus so far, since it was first reported in Malaysia in 1998, patients usually develop a sudden onset of flu-like symptoms. They include fever, headache, respiratory difficulties, convulsions, coughing, and vomiting. Additionally, if the virus is not detected early, then further complications such as respiratory infections and atypical pneumonia may develop.

These symptoms can progress quite rapidly, within just 24 to 48 hours, and further lead to coma and eventually death.

Can Nipah virus be treated?

There is no cure or vaccine to treat the Nipah virus yet. However, it emerged on September 16 that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is ramping up its efforts to develop a potential vaccine.

Treatments, therefore, are limited to symptomatic and supportive care to treat the signs and symptoms of the illness. If further complications are seen, consideration needs to be taken to treat possible cases of encephalitis, which can be transmitted from one person to another. Therefore, it’s important to implement standard infection control practices to limit transfer.