One person dead from Nipah virus in Bangladesh, WHO says

The case in Bangladesh, where Nipah cases are reported almost every year, follows two Nipah virus cases identified in neighbouring India

The World Health Organization said on Friday that a woman had died in northern Bangladesh in January after contracting the deadly Nipah virus infection.

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

The patient in Bangladesh – aged between 40 and 50 – developed symptoms consistent with Nipah virus on 21 January, including fever and headache followed by hypersalivation, disorientation and convulsion, the WHO added.

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