Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Jan 12: West Bengal health authorities have stepped up surveillance after two suspected cases of Nipah virus disease were detected on January 11 at the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) of ICMR at AIIMS Kalyani.

State chief secretary Nandini Chakraborty and Health Secretary Narayan Swoop Nigam confirmed on Monday that both patients are nurses by profession and are currently receiving intensive care at a private hospital. The two are attached to a hospital in Barasat, the district headquarters of North 24 Parganas.

Officials said the state health department has initiated contact tracing to identify individuals who may have come into contact with the nurses after the suspected infection. As one nurse is a resident of Nadia district and the other hails from East Burdwan, tracing efforts are focused across Nadia, East Burdwan, and North 24 Parganas districts.

Following confirmation of the suspected cases, the Union Health Secretary held immediate consultations with senior state officials to assess the situation and ensure coordinated and timely action.

To support containment and public health measures, a national joint outbreak response team has been deployed. The team includes specialists from the All India Institute of Health and Public Hygiene, Kolkata; National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune; National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai; AIIMS Kalyani; and the Department of Wildlife under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Union government guidelines on Nipah Virus Disease issued under the Communicable Disease Alert framework have been shared with the State Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) unit. Additionally, the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Delhi has been activated to oversee and coordinate the national response.

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, assuring full support from the Centre. He also spoke to the Chief Minister by phone, reiterating the Union government’s commitment to provide all necessary assistance to effectively manage the situation, the Union health ministry said in a statement.