West Bengal is on high alert following the detection of two suspected Nipah virus cases. The cases were identified on Sunday, January 11, 2026, at the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), ICMR, AIIMS Kalyani.
The Union Health Ministry is closely monitoring the situation and has deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team to West Bengal to support the state government in containment and public health response measures. The team comprises experts from several institutions, including the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata; the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune; the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai; AIIMS Kalyani; and the Department of Wildlife under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
According to official sources, Union Health Minister JP Nadda has assured West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of full support from the central government. Nadda has also spoken with the Chief Minister to reiterate the Centre's commitment to providing all necessary assistance to the state in managing the situation. The central government is providing comprehensive technical, logistical, and operational support to West Bengal.
The two patients, both nurses, are currently in critical care at a private hospital in North 24 Parganas district. They are 25 and 27 years old and hail from East Bardhaman and East Midnapore districts respectively. Cerebrospinal fluid and throat swab samples from the two nurses tested positive for the Nipah virus at the AIIMS Kalyani laboratory. Authorities are working to determine how the nurses contracted the virus and are tracing and verifying all those who have come into contact with them. Contact tracing and testing are underway in North 24 Parganas, Purba Bardhaman, and Nadia districts. One of the suspected cases had a history of traveling to Ghugragachi in Bengal's Nadia district, near the India-Bangladesh border.
The West Bengal government has activated three helpline numbers for emergency purposes: (033) 2333 0180, 9836046212, and 9874708858.
A senior official of the West Bengal Health Department stated that the situation is being monitored closely and that the state health department is handling the situation with utmost priority, given the serious nature of Nipah virus infection. All necessary containment and surveillance measures have been put in place. Central government guidelines on Nipah Virus Disease under the Communicable Disease Alert have been shared with the State Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) unit. The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, has also been activated to coordinate the national response.
Nipah virus is a zoonotic disease with a high mortality rate and the potential for rapid spread. It is transmitted to humans primarily through fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, and can also be transmitted via animals such as pigs and, in some cases, other domestic animals. Human-to-human transmission has also been documented. The infection can cause severe illness, including encephalitis, and has a high mortality rate ranging from 40 to 75 percent. Medical experts have noted that this is the first instance of suspected Nipah virus cases being reported in West Bengal since 2001.
