NIH confirms Pakistan has adequate laboratory capacity and diagnostic kits to test suspected cases
Pakistan has stepped up preparedness measures against the Nipah virus and National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials reported at a high-level meeting on Thursday that the risk of an outbreak remained low, although the presence of animal reservoirs meant it could not be completely ruled out.
A day earlier, the federal government ordered strict and enhanced health surveillance at all entry points into the country following regional alerts about the Nipah virus, a highly deadly zoonotic disease. In an advisory issued by the Ministry of Health’s Border Health Services, authorities cited reports of suspected cases of Nipah virus in the Indian state of West Bengal and warned of the potential for cross-border transmission of the virus.
The Director General (DG) of Health, Dr. Abdul Wali Khan, confirmed to The express PAkGazette that a high-level meeting on preventive and preparedness measures was held today at the Ministry of National Health Services.
Read more: Pakistan reinforces border surveillance due to Nipah virus
He said the meeting was called on the instructions of Health Minister Mustafa Kama to review national preparedness and ensure response mechanisms are in place. Director General 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 was no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment.
Khan said Health Secretary Mr Hamed Yaqoob Shaikh informed the forum that although no cases of Nipah virus had been detected in Pakistan to date in humans or animals, the ecological conditions observed in neighboring countries required continued vigilance and preparedness.
He added that officials reviewed preparedness at federal health institutions, surveillance systems, border health services and major hospitals in the federal capital.
Director-General 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, beginning in Malaysia in 1999.
He said fruit bats were present in Pakistan, particularly in the northern and forested regions, but added that there was no scientific evidence of active circulation of the Nipah virus or contagion to humans within the country.
Khan said that, according to Border Health Services officials at the meeting, enhanced screening of incoming travelers at airports and land crossings, including thermal screening and travel history screening, was being carried out, particularly for passengers arriving from high-risk regions, although there were no direct flights from countries that had recently reported cases.
Also read: What to know about the Nipah virus?
He said the executive directors of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Federal Government Polyclinic told meeting members that designated isolation facilities were available and trained staff were ready to handle suspected cases as per national guidelines.
The Director-General added that health experts present at the meeting reiterated that Nipah was a highly fatal disease, with previous outbreaks showing a case fatality rate of 40-75%, often causing severe respiratory illnesses and brain inflammation.
He also said that according to the federal health secretary there is no reason for public panic but urged the authorities to remain alert and proactive; conducted more intense public awareness campaigns before Ramadan; It advised people to wash fruit thoroughly, avoid fallen or partially consumed fruit, and refrain from unsafe food handling practices that may increase exposure to animal secretions, and emphasized the need for close coordination between federal and provincial health departments to ensure rapid detection and response.
DG Khan said meeting participants concluded that continued surveillance, border control, hospital preparedness and public awareness were critical to prevent the introduction and spread of Nipah virus in Pakistan, while reaffirming that the current threat level remained minimal.
The World Health Organization classifies Nipah as a priority pathogen due to its ability to cause rapidly evolving outbreaks, its 40-75% mortality rate, and the fact that there is no approved vaccine or cure.
The virus, transmitted by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, can cause a fatal fever that inflames the brain in humans and can also be transmitted directly from person to person through close contact. Several vaccines are being developed but are still being tested.
Nipah was first identified in 1998 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore, although scientists believe it has circulated among flying foxes for millennia and warn that a mutated, highly transmissible strain could arise 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 for Nipah outbreaks. The virus has been linked to the deaths of dozens of people in Kerala since it first emerged in 2018.
The West Bengal cases are the first in the state in nearly two decades, after five fatal infections in 2007, local media reported.
