Nipah virus cases in West Bengal spark cautious global health watch

Two Nipah virus cases in West Bengal, India have triggered cautious monitoring: Nipah is a deadly zoonotic virus carried by fruit bats and can spread to people via contaminated products or close contact, but the WHO currently sees low national/global risk; there is no approved vaccine yet, though vaccines and antibody trials are underway; outbreaks are seasonal and linked to bat behavior and habitat loss, and prevention emphasizes avoiding bat exposure, boiling raw date palm sap, and strict biosecurity and PPE, with the current cases contained through rapid tracing and isolation.