India’s first Nipah virus victim town Siliguri under panic after Kerala outbreak

Reported outbreak of Nipah(NiV) virus in Kerala causing death over 10 patients has started ringing alarm bell in Siliguri in West Bengal. The town that witnessed fatal presence of that deadly virus for the first time in India. The episode took near 45 lives of the hamlet of 5 lakh populace only in just ten days.

Despite being near 2 decades old, scur of the tragic event is still fresh in the minds of Siligurites. “Experience of seeing friends, relatives dying one after another almost daily is definitely the most scary memory of my life. I do not want anyone to witness the same in life,” said Somen Mitra, a septuagenarian retired teacher.

Outbreak of the zoonotic disease outbreak took over 45 lives of Siliguri in 10 days. Now the news of another NiV attack in Kerala is pushing whole town deep under panic again.


As record shows, the outbreak of encephalitis in Siliguri began in late January 2001 to peak in mid-February Almost all of the victims were members of the hospital staff or had attended to or visited patients in a particular hospital. Out of 61 identified adult cases of encephalitis, 45 died showing too high a fatality rate of 74%.

The reason that remained unknown for long was afterward reported by studies of United States federal body Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as Nipah Virus (NiV). Detail studies suggested the particular NiV from Siliguri incident was more closely related to NiV found in outbreaks in regions of Bangladesh at close proximity. The town has Indo-Bangla border within just 10 km.

“To our knowledge, NiV infection has not occurred previously in India,” states the report making Siliguri outbreak as the first NiV occurrence in the country.

“Pigs or Bats play vital role as hosts of the virus. Though deadly, but early detection of the disease and initiation of infection controlling measure can minimize fatality. Also consumption of lemon can help in preventing the attack by enhancing immunological strength,” said experts.

However, Sankar Ghosh, Siliguri Mayor In Council, Health said, “We have not yet received any NiV related communiqué from state Health department. But we are keeping watch and requesting everybody to take all possible precautions without being panicky.”