Overview
- India’s Health Ministry refuted reports of five infections, confirming two cases since December in West Bengal and reporting 196 traced contacts tested negative with no new cases detected.
- WHO says further international spread is unlikely based on current data, though it notes additional infections remain possible due to the bat reservoir and estimates global case fatality at roughly 40%–75%.
- Health agencies in China, Hong Kong, Belarus, and Russia report no imported cases and have activated monitoring with guidance for travelers to affected regions.
- Russian and Belarusian officials say local conditions do not support sustained transmission because fruit bats of the Pteropus genus are absent, and Russia reports border screening and ample test kits with no need for special migrant restrictions.
- Public guidance highlights prevention measures such as avoiding raw date palm sap, bat-bitten or unwashed fruit, and cave visits, noting limited person-to-person spread without efficient airborne transmission and no approved vaccine or specific antiviral.