Nipah virus creates stir after cases detected in West Bengal; Can cause COVID like epidemic and how does it spread?

The World Health Organization has placed it on a list of priority pathogens due to its potential to cause an epidemic and the severity of the illness it causes.

Nipah virus, West Bengal, New Delhi, Canberra, NiV, China, Pakistan, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Kaja Abbas — (File)

New Delhi: The discovery of two patients infected with the Nipah virus (NiV) in West Bengal, India, has caused a global stir. Alerts have been issued in countries ranging from China, Pakistan, Thailand, and Singapore to Australia. Several countries have tightened health screening operations at airports.

Two Nipah virus cases found in West Bengal

The Health Ministry said that two patients infected with the Nipah virus were found in West Bengal in December 2025. However, 196 people who came into contact with those two patients were tested, and all tested negative for the virus. India has stated that the situation is being continuously monitored.

Australia’s Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, Mark Butler, said on Friday, January 30, that the government is closely monitoring the spread of the Nipah virus in Asia. Providing information about the Nipah virus to Nine Network Television, Butler said, “The Nipah virus has never been found in Australia, but the government is taking the situation very seriously after the two cases found in India in December.”

Australia issues alert

Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said, “Indian authorities have told us that they have contained the spread of this virus, but even so, we are watching this very, very closely because it is a very serious virus.” Meanwhile, a Xinhua news agency report said that “authorities in Indonesia on Thursday began strict monitoring of incoming passengers at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, which is the most popular overseas destination for Australian travelers.”

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Nipah virus spreads from animals to humans

The Nipah virus is a zoonotic disease. This means that the virus spreads from animals to humans. However, the risk of human-to-human transmission is minimal and occurs only in a few cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has placed it on a list of priority pathogens due to its potential to cause an epidemic and the severity of the illness it causes.

“It causes serious respiratory and neurological illness in humans, starting with fever and headache and progressing to acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in severe cases,” reported Al Jazeera, quoting Kaja Abbas, an associate professor of infectious disease epidemiology and dynamics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Nagasaki University.