January 29, 2026
Two Nipah virus infections confirmed in West Bengal, WHO urges One Health surveillance
SUMMARY: Two laboratory-confirmed Nipah virus infections in nurses in West Bengal prompted targeted public health action and regional travel screenings
India confirmed 2 laboratory-confirmed cases of Nipah virus infection in West Bengal in January 2026. Both patients were 25-year-old nurses employed at the same private hospital in Barasat and developed neurologic complications after symptom onset in late December 2025
LINK:https://www.dvm360.com/view/two-nipah-virus-infections-confirmed-in-west-bengal-who-urges-one-health-surveillance&
LINK:https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/nipah-virus-disease-cases-reported-west-bengal-india-very-low-risk-europeansCOMMENT: I can't help but cringe when they say it is "low risk" It may be low risk but they should say the
stakes are super high. I guess it is
low risk for a
high stakes disease! ...Nipah virus (NiV) can spread from human-to-human so I guess they are saying they quarantined everybody. I guess we will have to take their word on that .. of course it got two laboratory nurses to begin with which was also probably considered a low risk probability is something to think about. Again, just the fact that it was from a laboratory spooks me.
From their words...
"Media and regional reports indicate that the January 2026 situation has triggered airport and border screening in some neighboring countries as a precautionary measure. Veterinarians with animals or clients who travel regionally should be aware of evolving advisories."
... note they say "
some neighboring countries" and not
all neighboring counties.
...also they say "Veterinarians with animals or clients who travel regionally should be aware of evolving advisories"
.. note yeah they "
should be aware" but
are they aware!?
Merely being being
aware of something doesn't mean crap insofar as precautions go such as masking & quarantining animals especially if people and animals are asymptomatic. Besides what does "evolving advisories" mean and do veterinarians know what that means? My trust is zip. If it was such low risk they wouldn't have got it so who are they to advise be they an evolving advisory or not!?
To me the airports and their behavior indicate how seriously scared they are ...Nipah Virus seems to be of public concern there and is "high risk" there which is why they are masking and stopping people at airports. They take it seriously at the airport but nowhere else?
Let's put it this way:
"in the initial weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China (late December 2019 to mid-January 2020), Chinese authorities and state media downplayed the risks to the public, stating that the virus was "preventable and controllable" and that there was "no clear evidence" of human-to-human transmission
No Clear Evidence" of Transmission: Until January 20, 2020, Chinese officials maintained that the virus was not easily transmitted between people, suggesting the risk to the general public was low.
"Low Risk" Statement: On January 15, 2020, Li Qun, the head of the China CDC’s emergency center, told state television that the risk of sustained human-to-human transmission was "low".
Silencing Whistleblowers: In early January 2020, police in Wuhan reprimanded eight doctors, including Dr. Li Wenliang, for "spreading rumors" after they warned colleagues about a potential SARS-like virus.
Delayed Public Warning: While internal reports acknowledged the severity as early as mid-January, public messaging did not reflect this, with, for example, a local medical team stating on January 6 that there was "absolutely no chance" the virus would spread widely.
Shift in Tone: The official stance changed on January 20, 2020, when President
Xi Jinping ordered the outbreak to be taken seriously, and Dr. Zhong Nanshan, a prominent epidemiologist, confirmed on national TV that human-to-human transmission was occurring.
..I'm not saying Nipah virus is going to spread like wildfire but I wouldn't call it low risk because it is laboratory strain leaked if I am not mistaken in reading the report. If it happened in a clinical setting then why not in a real life scenario? Perhaps being a layperson on the matter, I am wrong to compare the nature of Nipah to Covid but there is certainly reason to be alarmed because of what happened with covid and how initially people said it was low risk.. for what it is worth it makes me second guess and question the "low risk" statements. For me, I'm thinking: Once bitten twice shy when it come to bat diseases spreading human to human possibly from labs.
The problem to me is they don't state any reasons why the Nipah virus risks would be low to the public other than they are stopping people at airports for now. Sounds like the risks are high enough they are stopping people at airports..in other words the risk is high to the public otherwise they wouldn't be stopping people at airports. My reasoning is it is of public concern and is "high risk" which is why they are masking and stopping people at airports. It's just a weird argument: Is it considered "low risk" because people at the airport are taking precautions and treating it as high risk? It doesn't look "low risk" at the airport.
[PHOTO ATTACHED BELOW]
"A handout photo released by Suvarnabhumi Airport shows Thai health officials wearing protective masks monitoring passengers from international flights arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Samut Prakan province, Thailand, Jan. 25, 2026. Thailand's international disease control checkpoints at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang International Airports began implementing health screening measures for flights arriving from West Bengal, India, to monitor and prevent Nipah virus infection.
The Suvarnabhumi Airport Office via EPA via Shutterstock"
