Airports across parts of Asia have begun tightening health surveillance and travel screening after an outbreak of the Nipah virus in an Indian state.
Thailand, Nepal and Taiwan are among the countries and territories that have stepped up precautionary measures after two Nipah virus cases were confirmed in India’s West Bengal.
Nipah is a zoonotic disease that mainly spreads to humans from infected pigs and bats, but can also be passed on through close person-to-person contact.
In West Bengal, a total of 196 people were identified as contacts of the infected patients and were traced, monitored and tested, according to the Indian health ministry. All were found to be asymptomatic and tested negative for the virus, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
In Thailand, the ministry of public health has stepped up health screening at major airports for passengers arriving from West Bengal, using techniques that became established during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Officials have also increased cleaning and disease-control preparedness at Phuket International Airport as part of the preventive measures. The Indian airline Indigo operates a daily direct flight between Kolkata’s international airport in West Bengal and Phuket.
