WHO Monitors Nipah Cases in India, Advises No Travel Restrictions

In its latest Epidemiological Bulletin, the global health body reported two cases of Nipah virus in 25-year-old nurses -- a woman and a man -- working at the same private hospital in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.

The WHO informed that the healthcare workers developed initial symptoms in the last week of December 2025, which progressed rapidly to neurological complications. The two were placed in isolation in early January.

Following confirmation, an extensive public health response was activated. A total of 196 individuals who had contact with the confirmed cases were identified, traced, monitored, and tested. All contacts have remained asymptomatic and have tested negative for Nipah virus infection, the WHO said.

"No additional Nipah cases have been detected so far. The situation is being monitored," it said, adding that "based on current evidence, WHO does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions".

Amid reports of several countries introducing Covid-style checking at airports over fear of spread, the UN health body stated that the risk of transmission remains low.

"WHO assesses the risk at the sub-national level in West Bengal as moderate, given the presence of fruit bat reservoirs in the India-Bangladesh border areas and the possibility of sporadic zoonotic spillover. However, the national, regional, and global risk remains low," the WHO said.

"The cases are confined to the North 24 Parganas district, with no reported travel while symptomatic. All identified contacts have tested negative, and surveillance and infection prevention measures have been intensified. The likelihood of spread to other Indian states or internationally is considered low," it added.

This is the seventh documented Nipah outbreak in India and the third in West Bengal, following outbreaks in Siliguri (2001) and Nadia (2007).

Nipah is a zoonotic disease that is primarily transmitted from bats to humans, either directly or through contaminated food.

It can also spread from animals such as pigs to humans, and in some cases between people through close and prolonged contact, particularly in health-care settings.

In humans, Nipah virus infection can range from asymptomatic illness to severe respiratory disease and fatal encephalitis. Globally, the case fatality rate is estimated to be between 40 per cent and 75 per cent, depending on early detection and quality of clinical care.

Currently, there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for Nipah virus infection.

The WHO recommended reducing bat-to-human transmission by preventing bats from accessing date palm sap, boiling freshly collected sap, washing and peeling fruits thoroughly, discarding fruits with signs of bat bites, and avoiding areas where bats roost.

- IANS