India said it has contained a Nipah virus outbreak after confirming two cases in West Bengal, as several Asian countries tightened health screenings and airport surveillance for travelers arriving from India, the Associated Press reported in New Delhi on Jan. 28.
India’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that the two Nipah cases had been detected since December. The ministry said all identified contacts had been quarantined and tested, without providing details about the patients. The ministry said 196 contacts had been traced and all tested negative.
“The situation is under constant monitoring, and all necessary public health measures are in place,” the ministry said.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus first identified during an outbreak in Malaysia in the 1990s. It can spread through fruit bats, pigs and human-to-human contact, and can cause raging fevers, convulsions and vomiting. There is no vaccine, and treatment is limited to supportive care to control complications and keep patients comfortable.
The World Health Organization estimates Nipah’s fatality rate at between 40% and 75%, making it far more deadly than coronavirus, according to the AP report. The AP said there were no reported cases outside India, but other countries introduced or reinforced screening measures as a precaution.
The AP report said the safety measures were put in place after early media reports from India suggested a surge in cases, and that health authorities said those figures were “speculative and incorrect.” Indonesia and Thailand increased screening at major airports, including health declarations, temperature checks and visual monitoring for arriving passengers.
In Thailand, the Department of Disease Control said thermal scanners had been installed at arrival gates for direct flights from West Bengal to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. Myanmar’s Health Ministry advised against nonessential travel to West Bengal and urged travelers to seek immediate medical care if symptoms develop within 14 days of travel, and it said airport fever surveillance from the COVID-19 pandemic had been intensified, with laboratory testing capacity and medical supplies readied.
Vietnam’s Health Ministry urged strict food safety practices and directed local authorities to increase monitoring at border crossings, health facilities and communities, according to state media. China said it was strengthening disease prevention measures in border areas, with state media reporting that health authorities had begun risk assessments, enhanced training for medical staff, and increased monitoring and testing capabilities.
The report noted that Nipah outbreaks had previously been reported in West Bengal in 2001 and 2007 and that recent cases have largely been detected in India’s southern Kerala state, including an outbreak in 2018 that killed at least 17 people in Kerala. The Associated Press said journalists across Asia contributed to the report.