La OMS considera "bajo" el riesgo de expansión del letal virus Nipah tras la alerta en la India
La infección por el virus Nipah provoca desde cuadros asintomáticos hasta enfermedades respiratorias agudas y encefalitis letal, con una tasa de mortalidad estimada entre el 40 % y el 75 %.
TL;DR
- WHO assesses the risk of Nipah virus expansion in India as low.
- Two cases of the virus were confirmed in West Bengal.
- India has the capacity to contain outbreaks, as demonstrated in past instances.
- There is currently no evidence of increased human-to-human transmission.
- Nipah virus infection can cause severe illness, including lethal encephalitis, with a mortality rate of 40-75%.
- The two confirmed cases are nurses from a private hospital in Barasat.
- Approximately 190 people are under surveillance for contact with the infected individuals.
- India has previously experienced Nipah outbreaks in West Bengal (2001, 2007) and Kerala (2018, 2025).
- Several Asian territories have activated screening points at airports as a precaution.