On January 11, two suspected cases of Nipah virus were found in ICMR’s Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kalyani, West Bengal. Given the serious nature of Nipah virus infection, this situation is being handled with utmost priority. Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic disease. The death rate is high in this. There is a possibility of it spreading rapidly.
As soon as the information was received, the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India held discussions with the Chief Health Secretary and Principal Health Secretary, Government of West Bengal, so that the situation could be reviewed and prompt and coordinated action could be ensured.
A National Joint Outbreak Response Team has been deployed to assist the state government in containment and public health response measures. This team includes All India Institute of Health and Public Hygiene based in Kolkata, National Institute of Virology (NIV) based in Pune, National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) based in Chennai; AIIMS Kalyani and experts from the Department of Wildlife under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change are involved.
Under the communicable disease alert, the Central Government guidelines related to Nipah virus disease have been shared with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) unit of the state. Additionally, the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) based at the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi has been activated to coordinate the response at the national level.
Center assured all possible help to Bengal government
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda has written a letter to the Honorable Chief Minister of West Bengal, Smt. Mamata Banerjee, assuring full cooperation from the Government of India. Mr Nadda also spoke to the Chief Minister on telephone and reiterated the Centre’s resolve to provide all necessary assistance to the State in dealing with the situation.
Indian government is continuously monitoring
The Government of India is providing extensive technical, logistics and operational support to the State Government. All necessary resources have already been mobilized, including laboratory support, robust surveillance, patient management, infection prevention and control measures and expert guidance. The state has been advised to maintain close coordination with the deployed expert teams and strictly implement contact tracing and other containment measures. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is continuously monitoring the situation closely in coordination with the Government of West Bengal.
What is Nipah virus?
Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus. It spreads from animals to humans. It spreads mainly from fruit-eating bats to pigs and then to humans. It causes severe brain swelling and respiratory diseases. This can be fatal. Currently there is no cure for it, nor is there any vaccine. Only patient care can be taken in this. It is found in South and South-East Asia. Especially found in India and Bangladesh. It is spread through contaminated fruit, bodily fluids of animals or contact with an infected person.