An epidemic of Nipah virus in the Indian state of West Bengal is raising concerns in parts of Asia, leading some airports to implement precautionary health checks.
So far, five confirmed infections, including among doctors and nurses, have led to the quarantine of 100 people and hospitalization of others in various medical institutions in Kolkata, according to the ministry. Times of India.
Three Thai airports that receive flights from West Bengal have started screening arriving passengers. Nepal has also started screening travelers at Kathmandu airport and land border crossings with India. The BBC reported.
India’s health ministry said 196 people known to have been in contact with the infected tested negative, according to the media outlet.
What is Nipah virus?
Nipah virus, which can be fatal, is transmitted by several routes, including from animals to humans – primarily by fruit bats – via contaminated food or directly between humans and can cause asymptomatic infections, acute respiratory illnesses and fatal encephalitis. The World Health Organization (WHO) declares.
Human-to-human transmission occurs through close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
Although Nipah virus has caused only a few known outbreaks in Asia, it infects a wide range of animals and causes serious illness and death in humans, making it a public health problem, according to the WHO.
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Infected people usually develop flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting and sore throat.
Some may experience breathing problems, including shortness of breath, coughing, and in more severe cases, pneumonia. This may be accompanied by dizziness, drowsiness and altered consciousness, which may indicate a more complex neurological infection.
THE most serious symptoms affecting the central nervous system include seizures, coma and inability to breathe.
The incubation period is estimated to range from four to 14 days, but the WHO has reported an incubation period of up to 45 days.
How deadly is the virus?
Nipah virus has a mortality rate ranging from 45 to 75 percent, and there is no vaccine or medical treatment available for animals or humans.
In December 2025, researchers from the University of Oxford, in partnership with the Bangladesh International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, launched the world’s first phase two clinical trial of a Nipah virus vaccine involving 306 healthy participants aged 18 to 55.
Most people who survive acute encephalitis, an inflammation of brain tissue, make a full recovery, although the WHO has reported long-term neurological problems in survivors.
Some may also develop meningitis.
About 20 percent of patients who recover from Nipah virus retain residual neurological symptoms, such as seizure disorders, and may experience personality changes. A small number of people who recover later relapse or develop delayed-onset encephalitis.
The primary treatment for humans is supportive care. The virus is described by the WHO as a “priority disease” with an “urgent need for accelerated research and development”.
In 2018, at least three people died in southern India after being infected with virus. They were all from the same family.
Where are the epidemics?
Nipah was first identified during a 1999 outbreak in Malaysia. Since then, outbreaks have been reported in parts of South Asia, including Singapore, as well as northeast India and Bangladesh. The Nipah virus has never reported or found in Canada.
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