Nipah virus

Nipah virus is among the deadliest zoonotic pathogens known to modern medicine - a disease with no vaccine, no specific antiviral treatment and a fatality rate that can reach as high as 75%. The latest confirmation of two Nipah cases in India's West Bengal has once again pushed the virus into regional focus. Indian authorities have stressed that the cases were detected early and contained through enhanced surveillance and field investigations, with nearly 200 contacts traced and found negative.

While this suggests an effective immediate response, it does little to diminish broader concerns in a region where dense populations and cross-border movement create ideal conditions for zoonotic spillovers. Nipah is not new to the subcontinent. First identified in Malaysia in 1998, it surfaced in West Bengal in 2001 and later in Kerala, where outbreaks in 2018 and 2023 resulted in multiple fatalities. Its natural reservoirs — fruit bats and, in some contexts, pigs — are widely present across South Asia. This makes geography a weak defence and preparedness the only credible line of protection. Pakistan, for now, remains Nipah-free. Officials from the National Institutes of Health have informed the government that the risk of an outbreak is low, but not impossible. The presence of animal reservoirs means that spillover cannot be entirely ruled out, particularly as ecological pressures and climate variability continue to alter human–animal interactions.

In response to regional alerts, Pakistan's federal government has ordered enhanced surveillance at all entry points, with Border Health Services conducting thermal screening and travel history assessments for inbound travellers. Major hospitals and laboratories have also reviewed their readiness, and authorities confirm that Pakistan has sufficient diagnostic capacity to test suspected cases. There is, at present, no cause for alarm in Pakistan. But there is every reason for sustained vigilance.