The patients were being treated at a private health facility where they worked at Barasat in North 24 Parganas district. File image used for representation. | Photo credit: The Hindu
One of the nurses infected with the Nipah virus in Barasat, West Bengal died on Thursday (February 12, 2026) afternoon. The other sister recovered and was released. Two cases of Nipah virus were detected in a private hospital in Barasat on January 11.
Both nurses, one male and one female, had Nipah-like symptoms, tested positive in January and fell into a coma. The patient remained critical longer, showed signs of recovery in late January, was weaned off the ventilator, but developed respiratory distress again. She developed a secondary lung infection and was put back on a ventilator on Wednesday (February 11). She died on Thursday (February 12, 2026).
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The nurse tested negative, showed signs of improved physical health, and was released from the hospital last week.
The patients were being treated at a private health facility where they worked at Barasat in North 24 Parganas district.
Over 120 people who came into contact with them were isolated and tested for the virus, but all tests came back negative.
On February 6, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that one person had died in Bangladesh after contracting the Nipah virus.
At a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday (February 11, 2026), WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said three cases of the Nipah virus had been detected in India and Bangladesh in the past few weeks.
Also read | Nipah virus detected in West Bengal: know about the virus and its symptoms
“These two outbreaks are not related, although they both occurred along the India-Bangladesh border. WHO is working with India and Bangladesh on risk assessment, contact tracing and community engagement,” the WHO director-general said.
The global health body assessed the situation and said it did not indicate a wider outbreak or transmission of the Nipah virus.
Published – 12 Feb 2026 21:09 IST