Indian nurse infected with Nipah virus dies

An Indian healthcare worker who contracted the deadly Nipah virus in December has died, a senior health official from the eastern state of West Bengal said.

The woman, a nurse, was one of two people in the state infected and treated at a local hospital, Reuters reported last month.

“The woman, who was in a critical condition, died of a heart attack,” Health Minister Narayan Swaroop Nigam told Reuters.

Nipah virus, which is usually spread to humans from infected bats or contaminated fruit, can cause fever and encephalitis and has a mortality rate of 40 percent to 75 percent.

India regularly reports sporadic infections, and the southern state of Kerala is also considered one of the world’s highest-risk regions for the virus.

Asian countries including Thailand, Singapore and Pakistan stepped up airport screening after India confirmed infections last month, but the World Health Organization said the risk of the virus spreading was low.

WHO said that a woman in Bangladesh died after contracting the virus in January.