Bangladesh reports first Nipah virus death of the year, says IEDCR

IEDCR confirms a woman’s death in Naogaon

A woman has died in Naogaon after contracting Nipah virus, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has confirmed.

This marks the country’s first Nipah‑related death of the year, according to the state‑run institute.

Sharmin Sultana, senior scientific officer at IEDCR, told bdnews24.com on Saturday: “The woman was admitted to hospital with Nipah virus symptoms. After testing, we confirmed she died from Nipah virus.”

This is the first death from Nipah virus this year, she said.

She added that the woman died on Jan 28.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also confirmed the fatality on Friday.

The case in Bangladesh, where Nipah cases are reported almost every year, follows two cases identified in neighbouring India, which has already prompted stepped-up airport screenings across Asia, according to Reuters.

The patient developed symptoms consistent with the virus on Jan 21, including fever and headache followed by hypersalivation, disorientation and convulsion, WHO added.

She died a week later and was confirmed to be infected with the virus a day later.

The person had no travel history but had a history of consuming raw date palm sap. All 35 people who had contact with the patient are being monitored and have tested negative for the virus, and no further cases have been detected to date, the WHO said.

The last Nipah death in Bangladesh was reported in August last year, when four people died.

The virus is transmitted from animals such as pigs and fruit bats to humans, either through direct contact or via saliva and excreta.

Once inside the human body, the virus can incubate for four to 14 days.

Early symptoms include high fever, nausea, vomiting and breathing difficulties, which may later develop into pneumonia.

In severe cases, the virus can cause dangerous inflammation or swelling of the brain, leading to neurological complications such as drowsiness and seizures.

Although the rate of human-to-human transmission is low, the WHO considers Nipah virus a high-risk pathogen with pandemic potential.

The virus has no vaccine or specific treatment. Its fatality rate ranges from around 40 percent to 75 percent, higher than that of COVID-19.