WHO: Low Risk of Nipah Virus Spread After Cases in India, Bangladesh

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the chances of the fatal Nipah virus spreading are minimal following the confirmation of three recent cases in India and Bangladesh. Nipah, a virus transmitted from animals to humans, lacks a vaccine and has a mortality rate ranging from 40 to 75 percent, as per the UN health agency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed concerns about potential outbreaks sparked by the recent cases of Nipah in both countries. He emphasized that after assessing the risk of Nipah virus transmission regionally and globally, WHO found the likelihood of spread to be low. Last month, two cases of Nipah were identified in West Bengal, India, while a fatality occurred in Bangladesh last week due to the virus. Tedros clarified that the two outbreaks were unrelated, although they occurred in proximity along the India-Bangladesh border and shared similar environmental and cultural factors. Both areas also harbor populations of fruit bats, recognized as the natural carriers of the Nipah virus. Nipah was initially discovered in 1998 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia. India reported its first Nipah outbreak in West Bengal in 2001. In 2018, Kerala witnessed the death of 17 individuals due to Nipah, and in 2023, two fatalities were recorded in the same state in southern India.