Why the Nipah Virus Outbreak in Bengal Has Asian Health Officials on High Alert

Is a sense of unease spreading across Asia as airports implement strict Nipah virus screenings for travellers arriving from West Bengal?

In January, a sudden cluster of Nipah virus infections centred in Barasat near Kolkata, has triggered a ripple of concern across Asia prompting the return of stringent health screenings at major international borders.

The outbreak has emerged at a particularly sensitive time as the region enters the peak travel season for the Lunar New Year in China, the South China Morning Post

reported.

What is concerning the countries is the virus's exceptionally high fatality rate, estimated by the World Health Organisation to be between 40 and 75 per cent, forcing nations to adopt a posture of "heightened vigilance."

Outbreak origins

The current health crisis in West Bengal began in mid-January when several healthcare workers at a private hospital contracted the virus.

According to reports, the infections occurred after medical staff treated a patient who exhibited severe respiratory distress and eventually succumbed to the illness before a diagnosis could be confirmed.

As of late January, at least five individuals have tested positive, including a doctor and three nurses. This cluster of hospital-acquired infections prompted authorities to quarantine nearly 200 high-risk contacts.

Why Nipah virus is dangerous

Nipah virus is particularly dangerous because its early symptoms are deceptively mild, resembling a common flu with fever, muscle pain and headache.

However, the disease can rapidly progress to severe respiratory illness or fatal encephalitis, which is an acute inflammation of the brain.

Neurological complications such as confusion, seizures and altered consciousness typically emerge within a few days of the initial symptoms and those who survive often suffer from long-term neurological damage, including persistent seizures or significant changes in personality, a WHO study said.

A worried China

The outbreak has generated widespread unease on Chinese social media platforms, with many citizens expressing fear that the virus could lead to renewed travel restrictions or lockdowns during the 40-day Chunyun

travel rush.

Representational image

In response, China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has officially listed Nipah as a targeted pathogen under the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law. This legal framework allows for immediate and specialised monitoring of passengers arriving from high-risk regions in South Asia.

Despite the public concern, health experts interviewed by the South China Morning Post

maintain that a widespread outbreak in China is unlikely. Furthermore, the specific species of fruit bats that serve as the virus's natural reservoir in India and Bangladesh are not widely prevalent in China.

Tightened border, heightened medical alert

Other Asian nations have moved quickly to implement "COVID-style" screening measures to prevent the virus from entering their borders.

Gulf News

reports that Thailand has established dedicated screening stations at Suvarnabhumi and Phuket airports, where all passengers arriving from West Bengal must undergo thermal scans and fill out health declaration forms. Similarly, Taiwan has announced plans to classify Nipah as a high-risk notifiable disease, the highest level of infectious threat, while Nepal has intensified surveillance at both its international airport and key land border crossings with India.

No vaccine or treatment protocol yet

While there is currently no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Nipah, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd and the University of Oxford have entered into a strategic collaboration to accelerate the development and manufacturing of the ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine.

According to a report in October last year, this partnership focusses on producing clinical trial materials for Phase II testing and establishing an investigational ready reserve of up to 100,000 doses.

Prevention and public safety guidelines

As health authorities in India remains on high alert, global health bodies stress that prevention through awareness is the most critical tool for containment.

Travellers are advised to avoid any contact with bats or sick livestock and to strictly avoid eating fruit that may have been contaminated by animal saliva or urine. Public health departments in the UAE and elsewhere have specifically urged residents travelling to West Bengal or Kerala to maintain rigorous hand hygiene and avoid visiting containment zones where cases have been identified.