Trump administration on alert as deadly virus with no cure sparks Covid-era quarantines
US health officials are ‘monitoring’ the deadly Nipah virus outbreak in India that has put nearly 200 people under surveillance and triggered Covid-era travel restrictions over fears of a fresh pandemic.
CDC officials told Daily Mail they were in ‘close contact’ with authorities on the ground to assess the situation and ‘stand ready’ to take further action.
A spokesperson said: ‘CDC is monitoring the situation and stands ready to assist as needed.’
India’s health ministry revealed Wednesday that 196 people who came into contact with infected patients are now being monitored for the virus, which can spread from person-to-person and kills 40 to 75 percent of those it infects.
This is 86 more individuals than yesterday, though officials said none were showing symptoms and all had tested negative for the virus thus far.
India has so far confirmed two Nipah cases, in two nurses, though local media report that three additional patients, a doctor, nurse and another staff member also had symptoms.
They reportedly became infected after treating a patient at the hospital who had a respiratory disease. The individual died before they could be tested for Nipah virus.
The patients work at a hospital around 15 miles outside Kolkata, West Bengal, India’s third-largest city and home to 16 million people.
Following the news, Singapore and Hong Kong have became the latest countries in the region to impose travel restrictions on arrivals from India, including temperature screening and mandatory health declaration forms. On Wednesday, the UK has also warned travelers over the outbreak.
The infection is caused by the Nipah virus, a rare but highly dangerous pathogen that can trigger severe breathing problems, seizures and fatal swelling of the brain. Pictured: the aftermath of a 2023 outbreak of the virus in India
Some parts of Asia have tightened security measures. Pictured above is screening at an airport in Bangkok, Thailand on January 25, 2026
Nipah virus has never been detected in the US, but experts fear it could reach the country if someone who is infected travels to the area.
The disease is rare, but can be caught from contact with an infected person or by consuming food or drink contaminated with the feces, urine or saliva of infected fruit bats.
Patients suffer symptoms including fever, headaches, vomiting and a sore throat within four to 21 days of infection. They can pass the disease to others via close contact with infected bodily fluids.
Within three to 21 days of symptoms emerging, patients may then develop serious complications such as encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. This is linked to its mortality rate.
There is no treatment for the disease, but several vaccines against the virus are currently in testing.
More than 2 million people traveled from India to the US in 2023 alone, latest official data suggests, which was up a quarter from the previous year.
All of India is currently under a US Level 2 travel advisory, asking travelers to practice increased caution amid reports of crimes and terrorism. It has been in place since June last year and there is no mention of the virus.
In a statement, the CDC said: ‘As of January 27, 2026, two cases of Nipah virus infection have been confirmed, both in healthcare workers in West Bengal.
‘Indian health authorities have deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team. Coordination and additional activities are underway including laboratory support, enhanced surveillance, case management, infection prevention control (IPC) measures, and experts have been mobilized to ensure containment.’
An individual is shown above during the 2023 outbreak of Nipah virus in India
Some parts of Asia have tightened screening measures at airports to control the spread. Around 200 people who came into contact with the infected patients have been quarantined as a precaution
It added: ‘CDC headquarters is in close contact with the CDC country office in India, which is closely engaged with national and local health authorities.
‘CDC is also in contact with the neighboring country of Bangladesh as they enhance surveillance and response readiness.’
Officials in the UK warned travelers Wednesday to exercise caution in India.
A spokesperson in the country said: ‘While the risk to most people remains very low, understanding the virus is important if you are planning to travel to areas where it circulates.’
Revealing the updated number of people being monitored for the virus in India, officials in the country said: ‘Speculative and incorrect figures regarding Nipah virus disease cases are being circulated.
‘Enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing, and field investigations were undertaken… which ensured timely containment of the cases.’
Reports suggest that one of the two nurses confirmed to be infected with the virus is now in a coma and is believed to have contracted the infection after treating a sick patient.
Revealing its travel restrictions, Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency said on Wednesday that it will set up temperature screening at its airport for flights arriving from areas affected by the infections in India.
The Ministry of Manpower is stepping up surveillance over newly arrived migrant workers from South Asia, and engaging primary care providers to increase vigilance, it said.
In Hong Kong, an airport authority spokesman said it was facilitating enhanced health screening measures including a temperature check at gates for passengers arriving from India.
Earlier this week, Thailand tightened its airport screening measures, requiring passengers arriving from India to complete health declarations.
Malaysia’s public health ministry also said it was boosting health screenings at airports, particularly for arrivals from countries deemed ‘at risk’.
In China, authorities said Tuesday that no Nipah virus cases had been detected in the country but that there was a risk of imported cases.
Nepal, which shares a 1,000-kilometer border with India, said it was on ‘high alert’ and had tightened screening of travelers. Health ministry officials said border points with India and China had been notified to remain vigilant and check suspected cases.
The Philippines has also tightened checks at airports and implemented passenger screenings.
Nipah was first identified in 1998 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore, although scientists believe it has circulated in flying foxes for millennia and warn that a mutated, highly transmissible strain could emerge from bats.
India regularly reports sporadic infections, particularly in the southern state of Kerala, considered among the world’s most at-risk regions for Nipah outbreaks. The virus has been linked to the deaths of dozens of people in Kerala since it first appeared there in 2018.
The West Bengal cases are the state’s first in nearly two decades, following five fatal infections in 2007, local media reported.
