Bengal reports 1st Nipah death, 25-year-old nurse succumbs to virus

A 25-year-old nurse died on Thursday after battling Nipah virus infection at a private hospital in North 24 Parganas district of, marking the first death from the virus in West Bengal in recent history.

Hospital sources said the nurse, who was among two nursing staff infected with Nipah, had been under treatment for several weeks. While she had recently tested negative for the virus, her condition remained critical.

The second infected staff member, a male nurse, was discharged in January after recovering.

The female nurse, however, continued to remain admitted as her health deteriorated. She had been kept in the critical care unit (CCU) for a prolonged period and was put on ventilator support on Wednesday.

She died at around 4 pm on Thursday at the private hospital in Barasat, officials said.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans from animals, and can also spread through contaminated food or direct human-to-human contact.

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