NIH confirms Pakistan has adequate laboratory capacity and diagnostic kits to test suspected cases
Pakistan has stepped up its Nipah virus preparedness measures, with National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials telling a high-level meeting on Thursday that the risk of an outbreak remains low, although the presence of animal reservoirs cannot completely rule it out.
The previous day, the federal government had ordered strict and enhanced health surveillance at all entry points into the country following regional alerts regarding the Nipah virus, a highly deadly zoonotic disease. In an advisory issued by the Health Ministry’s Border Health Services, authorities cited reports of suspected cases of Nipah virus in India’s West Bengal state and warned of the potential for cross-border transmission of the virus.
Director General (DG) of Health, Dr Abdul Wali Khan, confirmed The Express PK Press Club that a high-level meeting on prevention and preparedness measures was held today at the Ministry of National Health Services.
Learn more: Pakistan strengthens border surveillance against Nipah virus
He said the meeting was convened on the orders of Health Minister Mustafa Kama to review the country’s preparedness and ensure response mechanisms are in place. DG Khan added that NIH officials said the risk of an outbreak remained low, but could not be completely ruled out due to the presence of animal populations.
He further said that they also confirmed that Pakistan had adequate laboratory capacity and diagnostic kits to test suspected cases, but noted that there were no approved vaccines or specific antiviral treatments.
Khan said Health Secretary Mr. Hamed Yaqoob Shaikh informed the forum that although no cases of Nipah virus have been detected in Pakistan in humans or animals so far, the ecological conditions observed in neighboring countries required continued vigilance and preparation.
He added that officials reviewed the preparedness of federal health institutions, surveillance systems, border health services and major hospitals in the federal capital.
DG Khan said he himself told meeting participants that Nipah virus was a zoonotic pathogen, with fruit bats and pigs as natural reservoirs, and that reported human outbreaks had so far been limited to parts of Asia, starting with Malaysia in 1999.
He said fruit bats were present in Pakistan, especially in northern areas and forest regions, but added that there was no scientific evidence of active circulation of Nipah virus or spread to humans in the country.
Khan said that according to border health officials present at the meeting, enhanced screening of incoming travelers was underway at airports and land crossings, including thermal screening and travel history assessments, particularly for passengers arriving from high-risk regions, although there were no direct flights from countries with recent reported cases.
Read also: What to know about the Nipah virus?
He said the executive directors of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and the Federal Government Polyclinic told the meeting members that designated isolation facilities were available and trained staff were ready to handle suspected cases in accordance with national guidelines.
The DG added that health experts present at the meeting reiterated that Nipah was a highly fatal disease, with past outbreaks showing a case fatality rate of 40-75%, often causing severe respiratory illness and brain inflammation.
He added that, according to the Federal Secretary of Health, there was no reason for public panic, but he urged the authorities to remain vigilant and proactive; led more intense public awareness campaigns ahead of Ramazan; advised people to wash fruit thoroughly, avoid fallen or partially eaten fruit, and refrain from unsafe food handling practices that could increase exposure to animal secretions, and stressed the need for close coordination between federal and provincial health departments to ensure rapid detection and response.
DG Khan said the meeting participants concluded that continuous surveillance, border control, hospital preparedness and public awareness were essential to prevent the introduction and spread of the Nipah virus in Pakistan, while reaffirming that the current threat level remained minimal.
Nipah is listed as a priority pathogen by the World Health Organization due to its ability to trigger rapidly progressing epidemics, its 40-75% mortality rate, and the fact that there is no approved vaccine or cure.
The virus, carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, can trigger a deadly brain-swelling fever in humans and can also spread directly from person to person through close contact. Several vaccines are under development but remain in testing.
Nipah was first identified in 1998 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore, although scientists believe it has been circulating in fruit bats 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 one of the regions in the world most at risk of a Nipah outbreak. The virus has been linked to the deaths of dozens of people in Kerala since its outbreak in 2018.
The cases recorded in West Bengal are the first in the state in almost two decades, following five fatal infections in 2007, local media reported.
