First Nipah virus death reported in Bengal

KOLKATA — West Bengal on Thursday reported its first case of a Nipah virus-related death, after a nurse, who was affected by it and was admitted at the critical care unit of a hospital at Barasat in North 24 Parganas district, passed away.

State Health Department sources said that the deceased had developed a "secondary infection" in her lungs. Another nurse, also affected by the virus, was under treatment at the same hospital.

These nurses have been the only two cases of persons being affected by the Nipah virus.

The state Health Department had already clarified that apart from the two nurses, there had been no fresh reports of Nipah virus-affected cases in the state. Contact tracing was done to find out who came in contact with the two affected nurses.

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All such people were identified, and their samples were sent to the laboratory. According to the latest reports, the test results of all the samples have come back negative. No traces of the Nipah virus have been found in anyone who came in contact with the affected nurses.

Bats are the main carriers of the Nipah virus. If anyone consumes any fruit with a bat bite, that person can also be affected by the virus. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had claimed that besides bats, pugs could also be the carriers of the said virus.

The average death rate of people affected by the Nipah virus is over 50 per cent. According to doctors, the earlier the virus is detected, the greater the chance of recovery.

The symptoms of the disease at the initial stage are like those of a common fever, which increases body temperature, followed by convulsions, sore throats, and severe breathing problems.