The National Institute of Health Islamabad has procured one hundred testing kits to expand Nipah testing capacity as Pakistan tightens health screening at all points of entry following confirmed cases in India’s West Bengal.
Authorities say any suspected cases identified at airports, seaports or land crossings will have samples sent to the NIH Islamabad for laboratory confirmation. Throat and nasal swabs, blood, cerebrospinal fluid or urine will be collected under strict biosafety protocols and tested by real time RT PCR, the accepted gold standard for Nipah testing.
Border Health Services Pakistan and the NIH have directed immediate enforcement of enhanced surveillance without exception. The measure mandates one hundred percent screening of arriving and transit passengers, crew members, drivers and support staff, with thermal scanning, clinical assessment and verification of travel and transit history for the previous twenty one days.
Special vigilance is required for travellers arriving from or transiting through Nipah-affected or high risk areas, and screening teams have been ordered to watch for early signs such as fever, headache, respiratory symptoms and neurological changes including confusion or drowsiness. Anyone meeting the suspected case definition must be isolated at the point of entry, prevented from onward movement and managed according to infection prevention and control protocols before referral to a designated isolation unit or tertiary care hospital.
The NIH advisory notes recent reports of at least five cases in West Bengal, including infections among healthcare workers in Kolkata, and reiterates that Nipah virus carries a case fatality rate between forty and seventy five percent. Given the virus’s high mortality and potential for human-to-human spread, officials stress that robust Nipah testing and rapid response are essential to prevent cross border transmission.
Provincial health departments have been instructed to identify at least one tertiary care hospital or infectious disease unit in each province for safe triage, isolation and clinical management of suspected patients. Provinces must ensure availability of trained staff, adequate personal protective equipment including N95 masks, and keep rapid response teams on active standby for case investigation and contact tracing.
The NIH reminds health workers that Nipah can be transmitted through contaminated food, direct contact with infected animals such as bats or pigs, and close unprotected contact with infected persons in healthcare settings. Initial symptoms may progress quickly to severe respiratory illness or encephalitis; incubation typically ranges from four to fourteen days but can extend up to forty five days, underscoring the risk of silent cross border spread and the importance of sustained surveillance and strict cold chain practices for sample transport.
There is currently no licensed vaccine or specific antiviral for Nipah virus and treatment remains supportive; ribavirin’s effectiveness is inconclusive and not routinely recommended. Public health emergency operations centres have been placed on watch mode and daily case or nil reporting from points of entry is now mandatory, with authorities warning that lapses in surveillance or infection control will be treated seriously.
While the World Health Organization currently assesses the risk of wider international spread from the Indian cases as low, federal health officials reiterate that early detection via expanded Nipah testing and coordinated preparedness across provinces and border authorities are vital to prevent a delayed response in Pakistan.
