In response to the emergence of a lethal virus with no known cure, health authorities and airports have resumed COVID-like restrictions.

Airports across Asia have intensified their safety protocols following the confirmation of five Nipah virus cases in India’s West Bengal region. This virus, transmitted by bats, can infect both pigs and humans.

While the Nipah virus has not been documented in North America, it poses a significant threat due to its person-to-person transmission capability. The World Health Organization reports a mortality rate of 40 to 75 percent, often leading to severe complications such as respiratory failure and encephalitis.

Currently, around 100 individuals in West Bengal are under quarantine after the virus surfaced in a hospital setting. Authorities reported that a doctor, a nurse, and another hospital staff member tested positive following the initial detection in two nurses from the same area.

Narayan Swaroop Nigam, the Department of Health and Family’s principal secretary, disclosed that one of the nurses is critically ill. Both nurses developed high fevers and respiratory symptoms between December 31 and January 2.

The critically affected nurse has slipped into a coma, likely contracting the virus while attending to a patient with acute respiratory issues. Unfortunately, the patient succumbed before Nipah virus testing could be conducted.

In response to the outbreak, Thailand’s ministry of public health implemented health screening for passengers at major airports arriving from West Bengal. 

Passengers are being evaluated for fever and other Nipah virus symptoms, which include headache, sore throat, vomiting and muscle pain. Travelers are also being issued health ‘beware’ cards educating them on what to do if they become ill. 

A handout photo released by Suvarnabhumi Airport shows Thai health officials wearing protective masks monitoring passengers from international flights arriving at the airport. The measures are in response to a Nipah virus outbreak in India

Phuket International Airport in Thailand is also undergoing increased cleaning. No cases have been reported in Thailand, but Phuket International Airport operates several direct flights to West Bengal. 

There is no sign of Nipah virus spreading to the US or elsewhere in North America, and the CDC has not issued any travel advisories related to the virus. 

Local media reports state that travelers with a high fever or other symptoms consistent with Nipah virus will be taken to quarantine facilities. 

The department for public parks and wildlife has also ordered stricter screenings for caves and tourist attractions in Thailand.

Nepal has raised alert levels with Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and land crossings bordering India to prevent Nipah virus from entering the country. 

Additionally, health authorities in Taiwan have said they are planning to list Nipah virus as a Category 5 notifiable disease, the highest classification for serious emerging infections under local law. This would require immediate reporting and special control measures if cases occur. 

Taiwan’s Centres for Disease Control said Taiwan is maintaining its Level 2 ‘yellow’ travel alert – that alerts travelers to exercise caution – for Kerala state in southwestern India.

The CDC’s deputy director-general Lin Ming-cheng said travel advisories will be updated as the outbreak evolves.

Nipah virus is spread by fruit bats (pictured in the above stock image) to pigs and humans

A health worker is seen disposing biohazard waste from a Nipah virus isolation center at a government hospital in Kozikode, in India’s southern state of Kerala, in 2023

Nipah virus is zoonotic, meaning it can be transferred from animals to humans. It was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and has since been detected in Singapore, Bangladesh, India and the Philippines. 

The WHO states that Nipah transmission is thought to occur when people are exposed to secretions from animals or contact with the tissue of a sick animal. Some outbreaks have been traced back to fruits or fruit products, such as juice, that were contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats. 

The illness can also be spread from human to human. 

About 750 cases have been detected globally, along with over 400 deaths.

Many patients have no symptoms, but those who do report signs four to 14 days after initial infection. 

Initial symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, vomiting and muscle pain, though these can rapidly progress to dizziness, confusion, seizures, respiratory distress, coma and encephalitis, deadly inflammation in the brain.

There is no vaccine or cure, and doctors can only treat the symptoms.