Everything to know about Nipah virus amid cases being detected in India
Two cases have been detected in India among health care workers.
By Mary Kekatos
January 29, 2026
SUMMARY:Symptoms typically occur between four and 14 days after exposure. The most common symptom is fever followed by headache, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing and vomiting.
Diagnosing the virus in the early stages is often difficult because the symptoms resemble many other illnesses, the CDC has said.
The virus can lead to severe symptoms, including disorientation, drowsiness, seizures or encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain. These can progress to a coma within 24 to 48 hours, according to the CDC.
Deaths range anywhere between 40% and 75% among all cases, the federal health agency said. Some permanent changes among survivors have been noted, including persistent convulsions.
LINK:https://abcnews.go.com/Health/nipah-virus-amid-cases-detected-india/story?id=129667635COMMENT (Masked Man compiles some facts and factors for you):"
Nipah virus RNA was typically detectable first in oral or throat swabs as early as day 2, in blood between days 5 and 9, and in cerebrospinal fluid between days 5 and 12, depending on the sample timing and fluid type".
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So accordingly someone that has Nipah virus for the first day can go undetected through an airport ..in other words
Nipah Virus typically goes undetected by tests for one day meaning an asymptomatic person who just got Nipah virus would test negative for the virus at the airport and then arrive sick the next day at their destination without having been detected positive for Nipah virus.
There's 24 hour window of opportunity for an asymptomatic carrier of this virus to go undetected by tests...."based on recent 2025/2026 data, Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) handles approximately 458 to 484 daily flights, with passenger numbers during peak periods exceeding 85,000 to 90,000 arrivals per day. As a major hub, it serves over 51 million passengers annually, reflecting a significant rebound to near pre-COVID levels.The airport is ranked among the top 20 busiest in the world and serves as a major international gateway"
While it is true of some but not all strains of Nipah Viruses:"Nipah virus requires close, direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated food, making it harder to catch but devastatingly fatal.ransmission Routes: Nipah requires close contact with bodily fluids (saliva, urine, blood) of infected individuals"
(This doesn't completely apply to the the latest variant of Nipah..read further about the currently more dangerous and much more contagious Bangladesh strain of the Nipah virus that is occurring (NiV-B)We still have to worry about the future (and current)mutations:Nipah virus (NiV) can and does mutate. As an RNA virus, it has a high mutation rate, which is a major concern for scientists and public health officials. Mutations allow the virus to adapt to new environments, potentially increase its transmissibility among humans, and become more virulent...as an RNA virus, it has an exceptionally high rate of mutation.
The Future is here: Existing Strains: There are already two recognized strains of the virus: the Malaysian (NiV-M) and
the Bangladesh (NiV-B) strains.
The Bangladesh strain, which is more recent, already exhibits more frequent human-to-human transmission compared to the original Malaysian strain, highlighting the impact of viral evolution.
(Nipah virus has now been detected in 35 of Bangladesh's 64 districts. Faridpur, Rajbari, Naogaon, and Lalmonirhat have reported comparatively higher infection and death rates).
the Bangladesh strain of the Nipah virus (NiV-B) is considered more transmittable between humans than the Malaysia strain (NiV-M), and it is associated with higher mortality rates (often over 70%). While NiV-M caused outbreaks through intermediate pig hosts, NiV-B frequently transmits directly from fruit bats to humans and f
rom person-to-person via respiratory droplets and contaminated surfaces. Key reasons why NiV-B is more transmittable:
Respiratory Transmission: Unlike the Malaysian strain, the Bangladesh strain causes severe respiratory symptoms in patients, increasing the
likelihood of virus transmission through coughing and sneezing.
Person-to-Person Spread: Human-to-human transmission is a major pathway for NiV-B, particularly in hospital settings Nipah virus can also spread between people ...It has been reported in health-care settings and among family and caregivers of sick people through close contact., in contrast to the rare instances of person-to-person transmission for NiV-M.
High Environmental Contamination: The virus is often found on hospital surfaces and in bodily fluids in densely populated, low-resource settings.
Cultural Factors: Consumption of raw date palm sap contaminated by bats acts as a primary, recurring source of infection.
Research indicates that NiV-B is also more pathogenic, causing more severe disease in animal models compared to the NiV-M strain.
