Jan 31, Kathmandu - As people are worried about the Nipah virus outbreak in West Bengal, India, Nepal has also been instructed to test suspected cases.

The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division of the Ministry of Health has issued such instructions to the relevant agencies.

According to the new protocol, possible Nipah cases include death, severe acute respiratory infection, acute encephalitis, coma, contact with a patient with Nipah virus, etc. People who have returned from Nipah-affected areas, who have consumed raw palm juice, and who have come in contact with infected animals (especially bats) have been kept under suspicion.

“Dozens of people with influenza-like symptoms, especially those who have returned from West Bengal, India, are contacting us for testing,” an official of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division said on condition of anonymity, “But there is no need to panic. Because the Indian health authorities and the World Health Organization have reported that the outbreak has been successfully controlled, and despite sharing a border with West Bengal, the risk of infection spreading to Nepal is not high.’

Nipah is transmitted from animals to humans. It is a zoonotic virus. However, this virus is much more deadly than the coronavirus that caused a global pandemic in 2019. In India, two cases of Nipah virus infection have been confirmed in West Bengal this month. Both are infected healthcare workers. They showed symptoms in the last week of December last year.