Pakistan announces a state of emergency at airports and enhances border surveillance in response to the Nipah virus threat.

The federal government has declared a state of emergency at all airports nationwide and has intensified border surveillance following the emergence of Nipah virus cases in India.

The health ministry’s Border Health Services issued an advisory regarding possible Nipah virus cases in West Bengal, India, and cautioned about the illness’s potential for cross-border transmission.The health ministry’s Border Health Services section stated, “It is essential to enhance preventative and surveillance measures at Pakistan’s borders.”All travellers will be subjected to thermal screening and clinical evaluation at Points of Entry, which encompass seaports, land borders, and airports, the department stated.

The organisation stated that visitors must present their transit history for the prior 21 days to ascertain if they have traversed “Nipah-affected or high-risk areas.”

ELEVATED MORTALITY RATE

Nipah is an uncommon viral infection that mostly transmits from infected animals, particularly fruit bats, to people. It may be asymptomatic, although it frequently poses significant risk, exhibiting a case fatality rate ranging from 40 percent to 75 percent, contingent upon the local healthcare system’s ability for detection and management, as reported by the World Health Organisation.

The virus was initially found about 25 years ago during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore, however experts postulate that it has been present in flying foxes, or fruit bats, for millennia.

The World Health Organisation designates Nipah as a priority pathogen. India consistently reports intermittent cases, especially in the southern state of Kerala, which is considered one of the highest-risk areas globally for Nipah.

As of December 2025, there have been 750 documented Nipah infections worldwide, resulting in 415 fatalities, according to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which is financing a vaccination study to mitigate Nipah.