Indian nurse infected with Nipah virus dies

An Indian health worker who contracted the deadly Nipah virus in December has died, a senior health official from the eastern state of West Bengal said on Thursday.

According to Reuters News Agency, the nurse was one of two people in the state who were infected and was being treated at a local hospital since last month.

"The woman ... who was critical, died due to cardiac arrest," Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam told Reuters.

Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus, usually transmitted from animals to humans, but can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.

The World Health Organisation indicates that people with infection can develop a fever, and symptoms involving the brain (such as headache or confusion), and/or the lungs (such as difficulty breathing or cough).

There is currently no treatment or vaccine available for the Nipah virus, however several candidate products are under development. Early intensive supportive care can improve survival.

Nipah virus was first identified in 1998 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia. In 1999, an outbreak was reported in Singapore following the importation of sick pigs from Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been reported from Malaysia or Singapore since 1999. In 2001, Nipah virus infection outbreaks were detected in India and Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, outbreaks have been reported almost every year since. In India, outbreaks are periodically reported in several parts of the country, including the latest one in 2026.

In 2014, an outbreak was reported in the Philippines, with no new cases since then.

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Last month, the Asian countries, including Thailand, Singapore, and Pakistan, stepped up airport screening after India confirmed the infections, but the World Health Organisation had said risk of the virus's spread was low.

Signs and symptoms

The incubation period – that is, the time from infection to the onset of symptoms – ranges from 3 to 14 days. In some rare cases incubation of up to 45 days has been reported.

For some people, Nipah virus infection may be asymptomatic. However, most people develop a fever, and symptoms involving the brain (such as headache or confusion), and/or the lungs (such as difficulty breathing or cough). Other organs can also be affected. Other frequent symptoms include chills, fatigue, drowsiness, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Severe disease can occur in any patient but is particularly associated with people presenting with neurological symptoms, with progression to brain swelling (encephalitis) and, frequently, death. Careful supportive care and monitoring during this period is critical.

Most people who survive make a full recovery, but long-term neurologic conditions have been reported in approximately 1 in 5 people who recovered from the disease.

Treatment

While there are no specific treatments for Nipah, early diagnosis will promote early supportive care. For all severe viral infections, high-quality supportive medical care can prevent deaths, and includes:

There are currently no approved drugs or vaccines for Nipah virus infection. WHO has identified Nipah virus infection as a priority disease for the WHO Research and Development Blueprint. A range of candidate products are under different stages of development. 

Prevention

Raising awareness of the risk factors for infection and on measures people can take to protect themselves and prevent transmission is critical. WHO recommends taking measures as noted below.

Efforts to prevent transmission should first focus on decreasing bat access to date palm sap and other fresh food products. Keeping bats away from sap collection sites by using protective coverings may be helpful. Freshly collected date palm juice should be boiled, and fruits should be thoroughly washed and peeled before consumption. Fruits with any sign of bat bites should be discarded.

Gloves and other protective clothing should be worn while handling sick animals such as pigs or horses, and during slaughtering and culling procedures. In areas where the virus is present, when establishing new pig farms, considerations should be given to the presence of fruit bats in the area and in general, pig feed and pig sheds should be protected against bats when feasible.

In past outbreaks of Nipah involving pig farms, several measures were implemented to reduce transmission, including: routine and thorough cleaning and disinfection of farms; quarantining animal premises in the case of suspected cases; culling of infected animals, with close supervision of burial or incineration of carcasses; and restricting or banning the movement of animals from infected farms to other areas. For more information, see the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) webpage on Nipah virus infection.

People experiencing Nipah-like symptoms should be referred to a health facility, as early supportive care is key in the absence of licensed treatment. Close unprotected physical contact with sick people should be avoided. Regular hand washing should be carried out after caring for or visiting sick people, along with other preventive measures.