Nipah Alarm in India Triggers Regional Health Screenings Across Asia
India reports Nipah virus infections in two nurses at a hospital in Barasat, near Kolkata, with an index patient who died; authorities have expanded testing, quarantined high-risk contacts, and issued a nationwide alert as states like Tamil Nadu bolster AES surveillance. The outbreak has spurred airport and border screenings in Thailand and Nepal, and Taiwan is considering making Nipah a notifiable disease. Nipah has no approved vaccine or antiviral, is carried by fruit bats, can cause severe respiratory illness and encephalitis, and has shown potential for human-to-human transmission in healthcare settings, contributing to high fatality rates (40-75%).