Nipah | Pakistan

There is a low risk of the deadly Nipah virus spreading from India, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday, adding that it did not recommend travel or trade curbs after two infections were reported by the South Asian nation. Pakistan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are among the Asian locations that tightened airport screening checks this week to guard against such a spread after India confirmed infections. “The WHO considers the risk of further spread of infection from these two cases is low,” the agency told Reuters in an email on Friday, adding that India had the capacity to contain such outbreaks. “There is no evidence yet of increased human-to-human transmission,” it said, adding that it has coordinated with Indian health authorities. But it did not rule out further exposure to the virus, which circulates in the bat population in parts of India and neighbouring Bangladesh. Carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, the virus can cause fever and brain inflammation. I...

The federal government has issued a nationwide health alert amid concerns over the possible spread of the deadly Nipah virus (NiV) to Pakistan, directing all relevant authorities to adopt strict preventive measures at the country’s entry points.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday decided to enforce “strict and enhanced health surveillance” at all entry points in the country with immediate effect in order to prevent the cross-border transmission of Nipah virus. Nipah, carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, can trigger a deadly brain-swelling fever in humans and can also spread directly from person to person through close contact. Several vaccines are in development but remain in testing. It is classified as a priority pathogen by the World Health Organisation (WHO) because of its ability to spark fast‑moving outbreaks, its fatality rate of 40 per cent to 75pc, and the fact that there is no approved vaccine or cure. The measures taken by authorities in Pakistan coincide with those taken multiple other countries — Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia — after India confirmed the detection of two cases in December last year. In this connection, the Border Health Services-Pakistan (BHS-P) — an ancillary department of the Ministry of National ...

Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus in India have prompted countries in Asia to step up airport screening to prevent the spread of the infection. But what is Nipah virus, and how worried should people be? What is Nipah virus? Nipah is a rare viral infection that spreads largely from infected animals, mainly fruit bats, to humans. It can be asymptomatic, but it is often very dangerous, with a case fatality rate of 40 to 75 per cent, depending on the local healthcare system’s capacity for detection and management, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says. An undated image of fruit bats in Kerala, India. — Reuters/File However, while it can also spread from person to person, it does not do this easily, and outbreaks are usually small and fairly contained, according to experts and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Candidate vaccines are under development, although none have been approved yet. How common is it? Nipah was first identified in Malaysia in 1999. Since then, there have been small ...

Indian authorities said they had ensured “timely containment” of the deadly Nipah virus after two cases were confirmed in West Bengal state. Nipah, spreads from animals to humans, has no vaccine and a fatality rate ranging from 40 to 75 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing, and field investigations were undertaken… which ensured timely containment of the cases,” India’s health ministry said in a statement late Tuesday. It did not give further details on the two infected patients. “The situation is under constant monitoring, and all necessary public health measures are in place”, it added, saying 196 contacts linked to the cases had been traced, and all were negative. Nipah was first identified in 1998 after it spread among pig farmers in Malaysia. In India, the first Nipah outbreak was reported in West Bengal in 2001. In 2018, at least 17 people died from Nipah in Kerala, and in 2023, two people died from the virus, also in the southern state. ...