Bangladesh Records a Nipah Death. Why Does the Virus Keep Resurfacing?

With no vaccine and a high death rate, Nipah continues to test how prepared countries are for rare but dangerous outbreaks

Bangladesh has reported a death linked to the Nipah virus, a zoonotic disease with a fatality rate of up to 75%, health authorities said.

The World Health Organization said a woman aged between her 40s and 50s from the Naogaon region in northern Bangladesh developed symptoms on Jan. 21 and died about a week later. Laboratory tests on her blood samples confirmed the infection.

The woman had no recent travel history but was found to have consumed date palm sap, which has been associated with past outbreaks. All 35 people identified as having contact with her tested negative, and no additional cases have been reported so far.

After recent confirmations involving two nurses in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, the WHO said, “The possibility of Nipah virus spreading within specific domestic areas, regions, or between countries still appears low,” adding, “We do not recommend restrictions on travel or trade.”

Since 2001, Bangladesh has recorded about 348 confirmed cases, roughly half of which involved people who had consumed date palm sap. Infections typically occur between December and April, coinciding with the date palm harvest season.

First identified during an outbreak at a pig farm in Malaysia in 1998, Nipah virus is mainly transmitted through contact with infected animals such as fruit bats and pigs or through food contaminated with their bodily fluids. There are no vaccines or specific treatments, and the virus carries a fatality rate of up to 75%, though it does not spread easily between people.

Early symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting and sore throat, followed in some cases by neurological signs such as dizziness and impaired consciousness. Severe infections can lead to encephalitis, seizures and coma within 24 to 48 hours. The WHO has classified Nipah virus as a pathogen capable of triggering a public health emergency of international concern.

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