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WHO Rates Nipah Spread Risk Low After Two Cases in India

India reports all 196 identified contacts tested negative, with quarantines and monitoring still in place.

Overview

  • The confirmed infections involve two healthcare workers at a private hospital north of Kolkata, with authorities suspecting exposure to an untested patient who later died.
  • WHO issued no travel or trade restrictions and said India has the capacity to contain localized outbreaks.
  • Several Asian countries tightened entry screening, including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China, Nepal and Vietnam, and Pakistan suspended direct flights to India.
  • Indian health officials have intensified surveillance, laboratory testing and field investigations, and both patients remain hospitalized.
  • Nipah is a high-fatality zoonotic virus carried by fruit bats with no approved vaccine or specific treatment, and European public-health officials assess the risk of spread to Europe as very low.