K-P issues province-wide alert over possible Nipah virus threat

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department has issued a province-wide alert to all government and private hospitals over fears of the possible spread of Nipah virus following cases reported in India, officials said on Friday. Authorities confirmed that no case has so far been detected in Pakistan, but precautionary measures have been made mandatory.

According to an official advisory circulated to district health officers, medical superintendents, and medical directors of MTI hospitals, the department has declared the situation a potential public health emergency and ordered immediate preparedness across the province. The director of public health has been designated as the provincial focal person for Nipah virus response and coordination.

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Hospitals have been instructed to establish isolation units, form district-level rapid response teams, strengthen border health services, and expand testing and diagnostic capacity at designated reference laboratories. The advisory describes Nipah virus as a zoonotic disease that can spread from animals to humans and also through human-to-human contact.

Health authorities noted that confirmed cases have been reported in India’s West Bengal region, besides causing infections among healthcare workers. The reported fatality rate ranges between 40 and 70 per cent, making the virus a serious public health concern.

Read More: What to know about the Nipah virus?

Medical experts say symptoms of Nipah virus infection include fever, severe headache, acute respiratory illness, and, in some cases, fatal brain inflammation (encephalitis). The incubation period typically ranges from four to fourteen days but may extend up to 45 days in certain cases.

The advisory warns that the virus can spread through contaminated food, particularly fruits or other items exposed to saliva from infected birds or animals. Transmission may also occur through direct contact with infected animals or exposure to the bodily fluids of infected persons.

Also Read: Pakistan tightens border surveillance over Nipah virus threat as India confirms two cases

Strict biosafety protocols have been issued for handling and transporting suspected samples. Hospitals have been directed to ensure triple-layer packaging of specimens and maintain transport temperatures between two to eight degrees Celsius. All suspected samples must be sent to the Department of Virology at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad.

Officials emphasised that there is currently no licenced vaccine available for Nipah virus. Treatment is limited to supportive care and management of symptoms. The provincial focal person has been tasked with coordinating with all districts, stakeholders, and federal institutions, ensuring surveillance, early detection, case reporting, and enforcement of infection prevention and control measures across K-P.