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New Delhi: Health authorities in West Bengal are on high alert following the detection of two suspected cases of the deadly Nipah virus (NiV). The news has sparked urgent concern across the region’s medical community as preliminary tests point toward the presence of the high-mortality pathogen.
The frontline under fire
The suspected patients are a male and a female nurse, both employed at the same private medical facility in Barasat, North 24 Parganas. According to the state health department, both of them are currently in "very critical condition."
Preliminary screenings conducted at the AIIMS Kalyani Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory indicated a possible infection. While health officials await final confirmatory results, the geographical footprint of the potential outbreak is already being tracked.
According to the authorities, one nurse is a resident of the Nadia district and the second nurse hails from Katwa in Purba Bardhaman.
What is Nipah Virus?
Classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a zoonotic disease, Nipah is a virus that jumps from animals to humans. It is notorious for its ability to cause massive neurological damage. According to the CDC, the virus typically spreads through direct interaction with infected fruit bats (the natural hosts) or pigs, consuming raw date palm sap or fruit contaminated by bat saliva or urine and through close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
Symptoms: From fever to coma
The progression of Nipah is notoriously rapid and devastating. It often begins with "flu-like" symptoms. In the early stage, patients complain about fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, and a sore throat. As the virus attacks the brain, patients experience dizziness, drowsiness, and mental confusion. Severe cases lead to encephalitis (brain inflammation), acute respiratory distress, and seizures. Patients can fall into a coma within just 24 to 48 hours of the onset of severe symptoms.
A grim survival rate
The stakes for the two nurses are incredibly high. The Nipah virus carries a staggering fatality rate of 40 per cent to 75 per cent, depending on the speed of medical intervention and the specific strain of the outbreak.
The search for a cure
Currently, there is no vaccine and no specific antiviral drug to treat Nipah virus. It remains on the WHO’s priority list for urgent research. For now, the only defence against a wider outbreak involves strict isolation of suspected patients, rigorous hospital infection control protocols and the culling of infected livestock and movement restrictions in affected zones.
West Bengal health officials are currently monitoring the contacts of the two nurses as they brace for the final laboratory confirmation.
