West Bengal reports 1st Nipah-related death, as 25-year-old woman nurse succumbs
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "West Bengal reports 1st Nipah-related death, as 25-year-old woman nurse succumbs")
Health workers in PPE kits at a 'Nipah' virus isolation ward in India. Photograph: (PTI)
Sources at the private hospital in Barasat said the woman nurse was among the two nursing staff members infected with Nipah and had been under treatment for several weeks. She had tested negative for the virus recently, but her condition remained critical and kept deteriorating.
A 25-year-old female nurse died of Nipah virus complications at a private hospital in Barasat, North 24 Parganas district, on Thursday evening, marking West Bengal’s first Nipah-related death in recent history. The woman nurse had recently tested negative for the virus but remained in critical condition and was on a life support system. The nurse had been battling a Nipah virus infection at a private hospital, and her death is the first casualty due to the virus in West Bengal in recent history.
Health ministry sources said the death cannot be attributed solely to the Nipah virus but added that the complications that led to the deterioration of her health arose due to the viral infection.
Hospital sources said the nurse was among the two nursing staff members infected with Nipah and had been under treatment for several weeks. She had tested negative for the virus recently, but her condition remained critical.
Nurse passed away despite prolonged CCU care and ventilator support
The second infected staff member, a male nurse, was discharged in January after recovering.
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The female nurse, however, remained admitted as her health deteriorated. She was in the critical care unit (CCU) for a prolonged period and was put on ventilator support on Wednesday.
She died at around 4 pm on Thursday at the private hospital in Barasat, officials said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans from animals and can also spread through contaminated food or direct human-to-human contact.
She passed away despite prolonged CCU care and being put on ventilator support on Wednesday.
The casualty of nursing staff highlights the risks in healthcare settings where human-to-human transmission of Nipah virus occurs via close contact with infected fluids.
The incident has prompted other Asian nations like Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore to enhance screening amid fears of virus spread, given Nipah’s high 40-75 per cent human fatality rate.
What is Nipah virus?
Nipah virus, a zoonotic henipavirus related to Hendra, jumps from animals, primarily via saliva, urine, or faeces of fruit bats to humans, often via contaminated date palm sap or pigs as in the 1998 Malaysia outbreak. Transmission also occurs through infected animals or human-to-human contact in households and hospitals, though less efficiently than respiratory viruses like COVID.
Symptoms of the virus appear 4-21 days after exposure, starting with fever, headache and cough, and then escalating to severe pneumonia or encephalitis causing brain inflammation.
Why is Nipah virus so deadly?
Nipah’s high lethality comes from neurological damage, as seizures, coma, personality changes and respiratory failure develop in about half of severe cases fatally.
It triggers rapid encephalitis, with survivors risking late relapses even years later.
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