US EditionNipah scare: Bats at Kolkata Zoo tested days after two cases in West Bengal – How it spreads, symptoms explained
- Earlier this week, West Bengal health officials confirmed three new Nipah infections including a doctor, nurse and health staff member near Narayana Multispecialty Hospital in Barasat about 25 km from Kolkata.
- Experts note spillover from bats often involves contaminated fruit, and the virus can spread between humans through bodily fluids like saliva, urine and blood, Rajeev Jayadevan said.
- Authorities say 180 people have undergone testing and 20 high-risk contacts quarantined while nearly 100 close contacts were told to quarantine, and two nurses fell ill after duty Dec. 28 to 30 and entered intensive care on Jan. 4.
- Authorities issued a nationwide alert and local quarantine measures near Barasat, while regional health authorities increased surveillance for AES and Tamil Nadu issued an advisory to monitor AES linked to West Bengal.
- The WHO lists Nipah as a priority pathogen and notes the virus has a fatality rate between 40-75 per cent, no vaccine or specific treatment, and states are expanding AES surveillance for long-term neurological risks.
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Officials Report Outbreak of Deadly Nipah Virus, Which Has No Cure
Nipah is a zoonotic virus with a high mortality rateBIJU BORO/AFP via Getty Bats (stock image)NEED TO KNOWAuthorities in India have confirmed that two cases of Nipah virus have been reportedTwo nurses at a private hospital near Kolkata, West Bengal, were infected with the potentially fatal virus, and one is in a coma"The most likely source of infection is a patient who had been admitted to the same hospital previously," a senior health official …
According to the Telegraph, it is the Nipah virus that causes myalgia, headache, vomiting, while in many cases those infected fall into a coma.
Nipah scare: RT-PCR tests conducted on bats at Kolkata zoo
Samples have recently been collected from bat populations in Madhyamgram, Barasat and Basirhat in West Bengal; Alipore Zoo remains the only facility in Kolkata that houses a bat enclosure, prompting health authorities to include it in the surveillance drive
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