Nipah virus is an emerging zoonotic pathogen with high mortality, transmitted by fruit bats. Prevention is based on surveillance, hygiene, animal control and the development of vaccines and antiviral therapies: clusters in Asia are currently limited.
The Nipah virus (NiV)carried by fruit bats, is considered by the World Health Organization to be one of the most feared pathogens: it belongs to the bat family. henipavirus to RNA, known for its high mortality and the risk of epidemic outbreaks. Since the early 2000s, Nipah has caused recurring episodes in Asia, mainly in India and Bangladesh, with hundreds of documented cases and mortality rates of up to 75%. The main symptoms include high fever, headache, cough, fatigue and, in more severe cases, encephalitisrespiratory failure and neurological complications. Sometimes an atypical pneumonia may occur, which can progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome. In more than 20% of patients who survive the disease, neurological sequelae occur with convulsions and personality and mood changes. Transmission can occur directly from bats to humans or through intermediate animals, such as pigs, and in some outbreaks Human-to-human transmission, including hospital infections, has been documentedwith possible spread also by air.
The cases of 2025-2026
In recent months, Indian health authorities have reported new outbreaks of Nipah virusunderlining the persistence of risk in some areas of the country. Early 2026in the state of West Bengalhave been confirmed at least five cases of Nipah in a few days, with two nurses hospitalized in critical condition and approx 100 people quarantined as a precaution as authorities try to contain the spread. In parallel, also the state of Keralahistorically one of the main ones hot spots for Nipah in Indiahe saw many cases in 2025with confirmed infections and hundreds of contacts traced with intensified surveillance protocols by health authorities. India has in fact fielded a large deployment of emergency teams and the implementation of containment and contact tracing measures, given the high mortality associated with the virus.
«We are not faced with a new situation, because the Nipah virus has been present for decades in South-East Asia, while no cases have been recorded in the West. However, it is a virus that the WHO has paid attention to by including it among the viruses considered of high priority due to its lethality and the risk of possible mutations. It is therefore a virus that should not be underestimated given the clinical severity that it can cause, however there is currently no alarm situation and the clusters in Asia are currently limited. So nothing new, but the situation certainly requires due attention and caution.” This is what the epidemiologist told the agencies Gianni Rezza, professor of Hygiene at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University of Milanregarding the new cases of Nipah virus disease recorded in India in recent days.
At the moment there is no danger outside the endemic area
The Nipah virus is considered highly dangerousso much so that it is classified as an agent of biosafety level 4the same level as other emerging henipaviruses such as Hendra and Langya, the latter isolated in China. Langya, however, has so far shown no human-to-human transmission, making it less threatening than Nipah. At the moment, For Nipah there are no approved vaccines or antivirals, and patient management focuses on treating symptoms and complications, especially respiratory and neurological. In the 2011 film “Contagion”, the transformation of an epidemic – the Nipah virus – into a global pandemic was imagined. International research, however, continues to work on vaccines and targeted therapies, given the danger of the virus and its epidemic potential. Global surveillance of henipavirus is fundamental: each new virus from the same family provides useful information to prevent the appearance of similar outbreaks. Despite the danger of Nipah, which is an RNA respiratory virus, as light as Sars-CoV2, the risk for the population outside endemic areas remains lowwith prevention focused on limiting contact with infected bats and animals.
