An outbreak of the Nipah virus within the Indian state of West Bengal is raising concern in parts of Asia, leading some airports to implement precautionary health screenings.
Up to now, five confirmed infections, including amongst doctors and nurses, have led to a quarantine of 100 people and the hospitalization of others at various medical facilities in Kolkata, based on the Times of India.
Three Thai airports that receive flights from West Bengal have began screening passengers on arrival. Nepal has also begun screening travellers on the Kathmandu airport and land border crossings with India, the BBC reported.
India’s health ministry says 196 people known to have been in touch with the infected individuals have tested negative, based on the outlet.
What’s Nipah virus?
Nipah virus, which could be deadly, is transmitted through several pathways, including from animals to humans — primarily through fruit bats — via contaminated food, or directly between humans and may cause anything from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
Human‑to‑human transmission occurs through close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
Although the Nipah virus has caused only a number of known outbreaks in Asia, it infects a wide selection of animals and causes severe disease and death in people, making it a public health concern, based on the WHO.
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Infected people generally develop flu-like symptoms reminiscent of fever, headaches, muscle pain, vomiting and a sore throat.
Some may experience respiratory issues, including shortness of breath, coughing, and, in additional severe cases, pneumonia. This could be accompanied by dizziness, drowsiness and altered consciousness, which can indicate a more complex neurological infection.
The most serious symptoms affecting the central nervous system include seizures, coma and the shortcoming to breathe.
The incubation period is believed to range from 4 to 14 days, however the WHO has reported an incubation period of as much as 45 days.
How deadly is the virus?
Nipah virus has a death rate starting from 45 to 75 per cent, and there isn’t a vaccine or medical treatment available for animals or humans.
In December 2025, researchers on the University of Oxford, in partnership with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, launched the world’s first phase two clinical trial of a Nipah virus vaccine involving 306 healthy participants aged 18 to 55.
Most individuals who survive acute encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain tissue, make a full recovery, though the WHO has reported long-term neurologic conditions in survivors.
Some may develop meningitis.
Roughly 20 per cent of patients who get well from Nipah virus are left with residual neurological symptoms, reminiscent of seizure disorders, and should experience personality changes. A small number of people that get well relapse subsequently or develop delayed-onset encephalitis.
The fundamental course of treatment for humans is supportive care. The virus is described by WHO as a “priority disease” with an “urgent need for accelerated research and development.”
In 2018, at the least three people in southern India died after becoming infected with the virus. They were all from the identical family.
Where are the outbreaks?
Nipah was first identified during a 1999 outbreak in Malaysia. Since then, outbreaks have been reported in parts of South Asia, including Singapore, in addition to in northeast India and Bangladesh. Nipah virus has never been reported or found in Canada.
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