Officials of the West Bengal State Department of Health (India) are focusing on tracking down the source of Nipah virus infection for two nurses who contracted the disease and have narrowed down a border village in Nadia district as a location with a high risk of exposure. Here, one of the two nurses is said to have drunk fresh dates - a popular drink in winter before contracting the disease.
Both nurses, one male and one female, have been on ventilators at Barasat Hospital for the past few days. A test sample sent to the National Institute of Virusology (NIV) in Pune tested positive for the Nipah virus on Tuesday.
An investigation team from the Department of Health arrived in Ghoghragachhi village in the Krishnaganj block on Wednesday to collect detailed information. Here, the tracking team identified 13 people in close contact with the female nurse - who was also present at the wedding held in the village.
According to a medical official, the female nurse is currently in a coma due to neurological complications of the Nipah virus. She once stayed in the Bangladesh border village for a few days to attend the wedding on December 14. This official said it is likely that she drank fresh cha cha honey during her stay here. After the wedding, she returned home in Katwa and quickly returned to Barasat Hospital to continue working.
Experts believe that the female nurse may have transmitted the virus to her male colleague during the days the two were on duty at the hospital, before she returned home and began to show symptoms.
People said that Ghoghragachhi village is located next to Kushtia district of Bangladesh, where fresh cassia honey is widely consumed in winter. Some wedding guests - including female nurses - are likely to have also drunk this drink.
Although it is a familiar drink, fresh dates can become a dangerous source of infection if left by fruit bats - the natural host of the Nipah virus - for secrecy. In all Nipah outbreaks in India, fruit bats have been identified as the primary source of infection.
The investigation team also met with villagers to propagate epidemic prevention, advising them to limit drinking fresh dates at this time. "We have tracked down 13 people who came into close contact with the female nurse at the wedding. They have been self-isolated for the past three days and no one has shown symptoms yet. We are closely monitoring," a health official said.
According to the official, people have been temporarily reminded to avoid drinking fresh crushed honey to reduce the risk of infection. He said that the 13 people being quarantined are all in good condition and the situation has been continuously reported to the state Department of Health.
Nadia district recorded a Nipah outbreak in 2007 in Tahatta Betai village, the second outbreak in West Bengal state. Although small in scale, all five cases at that time died and the source of infection was also traced to fresh cassia.
