It’s been only 3 years since WHO, the World Health Organization, officially declared the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency. Yet, the recent outbreak of the Nipah virus once again solidly reminds us of the threat of disease outbreaks. Nipah virus, marking a fatality rate of 40 to 75%, was first identified in 1998 by local pig farmers in Malaysia. Ever since, it has occasionally made outbreaks in nearby countries, including the recent 2026 outbreak in India. The virus mostly originates from fruit bats, where it could spread to humans through its infected animals or by raw date palm juice that it contaminated. The virus can also spread among humans through close contact. When infected by the Nipah virus, people may develop fever, headaches, difficulty in breathing, chills, drowsiness, vomiting, diarrhea, and may even escalate to fatal neurological symptoms, including brain swelling. As the Nipah virus continues to emerge, it brings fear and worries to many because of its high fatality and no currently known vaccines or treatments.

Bringing us back to the recent 2026 outbreak, the outbreak unfolded over several weeks starting from December of 2025. In the late December of 2025, two nurses from a hospital in West Bengal had developed symptoms. The nurses, one a 25 year old female and one a 27 year old male, were hospitalized in early January of 2026. On January 13th, the National Institute of Virology in Pune confirmed both cases as Nipah virus infection. About a week later on January 21st, the male patient showed signs of recovery while the female patient remained in critical care. Meanwhile, a Bangladesh woman in her 40s reported symptoms of the Nipah virus, including fever, headaches, hyper-salivation, disorientation, and convulsion. As a result of these cases, Thailand started taking measures in the airport, screening passengers, making health declaration forms necessary before immigration, and creating special parking bays for planes from Nipah-affected countries. Other countries like Indonesia, Nepal, and Malaysia started to follow similar measures. On January 26th, India made an official statement of the two cases of Nipah virus infection in West Bengal. The day after, Indian National Centre for Disease Control announced no further cases had been reported in West Bengal, following with an announcement from India’s health ministry that a total of 196 contacts of the two patients were all tested negative. However on the same day, the woman from Bangladesh became unconscious. On January 28th, the woman was hospitalized and blood samples with throat swabs were collected. The woman died on the same day. On January 29th, the woman’s case was confirmed of Nipah virus infection in a laboratory. The next day, the Outbreak investigation team started investigations and identified 35 contacted people, with 6 symptomatic contact people, but all were tested negative. On the same day, the Global Virus Network (GVN) reported that though the infections are severe, it does not mean threat to global health, as there had been similar outbreaks earlier as a pattern. Later on February 3rd, the International Health Regulations National Focal Point (IHR NFP) for Bangladesh notified WHO of the one confirmed case of Nipah Virus. After, no further cases were identified, and contacted people are under constant monitoring. On February 12th, it was reported that the initial female nurse died after developing a cardiac arrest.

Important Events

The recent outbreak highlighted precautionary measures taken by international and national countries, including careful airport screening, rapid laboratory confirmation, testing and monitoring of close contacts, and critical and isolated medical care for infected individuals. Certain measures, especially airport screening, note strong influences by the Covid-19 pandemic, where thermal scanning systems with health declaration forms were strongly utilized in airports. Though WHO identifies the potential of Nipah virus in becoming a global threat to be low due to its high fatality, low air transmittance, low cross-border transmittance, and strong experience of countries managing the disease, many worries arise from people, especially since the recent 2026 outbreak, which happened after the Covid-19 pandemic. Main concerns include its high fatality and long-term neurological conditions even after recovery, the ability of human-to-human transmission, and lack of vaccines or treatments. Additionally, the fact that the virus is able to spread through drinking raw palm juice, proven again as outbreaks tend to occur in the harvesting season of raw date palm, instills fear by creating unreliability in raw juices.

Currently, WHO is focusing on developing drugs or vaccines for Nipah virus, testing different candidates after certain progresses in development. WHO reports categorizing Nipah virus as a priority disease for its blueprint. Though currently the potential of Nipah virus in developing as a global pandemic seems low, the recent 2026 outbreak once again reminds the importance of drug or vaccine development, effective detection, and efficient response and precautionary measures when confronting emerging outbreaks in an interconnected world.

References:

Ferruggia, K. (2026, February 5). Nipah Outbreak in India Poses Low Global Risk Despite Lack of Approved Treatments (L. Halpern & R. Panarott, Eds.). Pharmacytimes.com; Pharmacy Times. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/nipah-outbreak-in-india-poses-low-global-risk-despite-lack-of-approved-treatments

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (2026, January 27). Only Two Nipah Virus Disease Cases Reported in West Bengal Since Last December: NCDC. PIB Delhi. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219219®=3&lang=2

Mishra, S. (2026, February 14). India reports first Nipah death of latest outbreak but says no new cases detected. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/india-nipah-virus-death-b2920359.html

Muzaffar, M. (2026, January 30). What is Nipah virus? Symptoms to watch out for as India races to contain deadly outbreak. The Independent. https://www.the-independent.com/asia/india/nipah-virus-symptoms-outbreak-india-2026-b2910649.html

Ng, K. (2026, January 27). Nipah virus: Some Asia airports screen passengers after outbreak in India. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7zp581q5do

Sadam, R., & Dash, J. (2026, January 28). Nipah virus fears trigger airport checks across Asia after India confirms two cases. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/india-reports-two-nipah-virus-infections-thai-malaysia-step-up-screening-2026-01-28/

Shankar, P. (2026, January 29). Why is India’s Nipah virus outbreak spooking the world? Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/29/why-is-indias-nipah-virus-outbreak-spooking-the-world

Wikipedia. (2026, February 15). Nipah virus. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipah_virus

World Health Organization. (2026a, January 29). Nipah virus. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nipah-virus

World Health Organization. (2026b, February 6). Nipah virus infection - Bangladesh. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON594