WHO Downgrades Nipah Virus Risk, Recommends No Travel or Trade Restrictions Beyond India

There is a low risk of the deadly Nipah virus spreading from India, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which did not recommend travel or trade curbs after two infections reported by the South Asian nation were confirmed. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam have since tightened airport screening checks in an effort to guard against such a spread.

“The WHO considers the risk of further spread of infection from these two cases is low,” said the agency via email to Reuters on Friday. It added that India had the capacity to contain such outbreaks. “There is no evidence yet of increased human-to-human transmission,” the statement continued, noting coordination with Indian health authorities.

However, it did not rule out further exposure to the virus, which circulates in the bat population across parts of India and neighboring Bangladesh. Carried by fruit bats and infected animals like pigs, the virus can cause fever and brain inflammation; it has a fatality rate ranging from 40% to 75%, with no cure currently available. Vaccines are still being tested.

The two health workers who were infected in West Bengal’s eastern state late in December are under treatment at a local hospital. India frequently reports sporadic Nipah infections, particularly in its southern state of Kerala, where outbreaks have led to dozens of deaths since the virus first emerged there in 2018. The current outbreak is the seventh documented in India and the third in West Bengal, with previous outbreaks in districts bordering Bangladesh, which experiences annual outbreaks.

The source of infection remains unclear, according to the WHO. It categorizes Nipah as a priority pathogen due to the lack of licensed vaccines or treatments, high fatality rate, and concerns about a potential more transmissible variant emerging.