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Two healthcare workers suspected of being infected by Nipah microorganism successful Barasat metropolis successful North 24 Parganas territory of West Bengal are undergoing treatment, officials said connected Monday (January 12, 2026). The cases were detected astatine the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Kalyani successful West Bengal’s Nadia district on Sunday (January 11, 2026) night.
“Patients are nether attraction and observation. Contact-tracing and treatment plans have already been made,” West Bengal Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty said. Both patients are employed astatine the hospital they are being treated in. Officials person not yet disclosed the sanction of the facility.
Ms. Chakraborty urged people not to panic and stay alert. She besides appealed to radical to debar spreading misinformation and travel hygiene precautions. The State authorities has also launched 3 helpline numbers — 03323330180, 9874708858, 9836046212 — for nationalist queries.
Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam was contiguous astatine the briefing held by Ms. Chakraborty, but some refused to stock further details astir the patients, citing privateness concerns.
State authorities officials said the 2 patients had travelled to Purba Bardhaman on personal work. Contact-tracing is truthful being done crossed North 24 Parganas, Purba Bardhaman, and Nadia districts. Officials besides said the patients had not travelled extracurricular West Bengal successful the caller past and that authorities are successful interaction with their families.
Centre promises help
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry said a nationalist associated outbreak effect squad has been deployed to enactment the State authorities successful containment and nationalist wellness effect measures. The squad includes experts from the All India Institute of Health and Public Hygiene, Kolkata; National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune; National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai; AIIMS-Kalyani; and the Department of Wildlife nether the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
“Given the superior quality of Nipah microorganism infection, which is simply a zoonotic illness with precocious mortality and imaginable for accelerated spread, the concern is being handled with utmost priority,” a elder Health Ministry authoritative said. The authoritative added that the Ministry instantly contacted the West Bengal authorities upon receiving the accusation to reappraisal the concern and guarantee swift and coordinated action.
Central guidelines connected the illness person been shared with the State Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). In addition, the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) astatine the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, has been activated to coordinate the nationalist response.
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda has besides written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assuring afloat enactment from the Centre. “He besides spoke to the Chief Minister implicit telephone and reiterated the Centre’s committedness to widen each indispensable assistance to the State successful managing the situation,” an authoritative root said.
The Centre said it is providing broad technical, logistical and operational support, including laboratory services, enhanced surveillance, lawsuit management, corruption prevention and power measures, and adept guidance. The State has been advised to guarantee adjacent coordination with the deployed teams and to transportation retired meticulous interaction tracing and containment measures.
Ms. Banerjee visited the infirmary precocious connected Sunday (January 11, 2026) night, sources said.
Nipah Virus
Nipah microorganism is simply a bat-borne disease. However, Subarna Goswami, a senior nationalist wellness specializer with expertise in epidemiology, said it tin besides dispersed from pigs successful definite cases. He besides added that the incubation play is betwixt 4 to 14 days, truthful each superior and secondary contacts of patients indispensable beryllium traced. Primary contacts are radical who came successful interaction with the patients, portion secondary contacts are radical who came successful interaction with the superior contacts.
Dr. Goswami said the authorities indispensable people a way representation of the 2 patients to assistance successful contact-tracing and self-reporting by radical who whitethorn person travel successful interaction with the 2 patients. “Sometimes the bats beryllium connected day trees which nutrient day sap which is consumed by radical crossed West Bengal during winters. This tin beryllium a root of infection, truthful it is advisable to not person the earthy sap, but boiled and processed jaggery is not a problem,” Dr. Goswami told The Hindu connected Monday (January 12, 2026).
The Nipah microorganism has symptoms akin to influenza— fever, musculus pain, sore throat, and respiratory problems. Extreme cases tin person terrible respiratory distress and tin besides pb to convulsions. The illness was archetypal detected successful 1999 astatine Kampung Sungai Nipah village, Malaysia. The microorganism has been named aft this village.
Some patients tin besides beryllium asymptomatic carriers of the virus. That is wherefore aesculapian experts accidental that extended interaction tracing is crucial. Currently, determination are nary vaccines for this disease. But patients are quarantined and fixed extended attraction nether isolation.
The past outbreak of the Nipah microorganism was seen successful West Bengal successful 2007. In India, the erstwhile outbreak of the illness was seen successful Kerala successful August 2025.
(With inputs from Bindu Shajan Perappadan)
