{"id":5139,"date":"2026-01-27T08:40:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=5139"},"modified":"2026-01-27T08:40:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:40:22","slug":"airports-in-asia-reintroduce-covid-style-health-checks-amid-nipah-virus-breakout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=5139","title":{"rendered":"Airports in Asia reintroduce Covid-style health checks amid Nipah virus breakout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Airports have begun rolling out Covid-style\u00a0health<\/a>\u00a0checks amid\u00a0a possible outbreak of the Nipah virus<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0India<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thailand<\/a>,\u00a0Nepal<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Taiwan<\/a>\u00a0are now\u00a0monitoring passengers for symptoms or stepping up cleaning<\/a>\u00a0in a bid to prevent Nipah from jumping borders.<\/p>\n

Two nurses in Barasat, West Bengal, were sickened by the virus in late December after a patient died of an unknown disease.<\/p>\n

One is in critical condition and the other is in a coma, according to\u00a0local media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Health officials are now monitoring as many as 200 people possibly exposed to the virus, with 100 quarantined in a hospital.<\/p>\n

In response, hundreds of passengers from India are now having to undergo screenings before entering some Thai airports.<\/p>\n

\n

What is the Nipah virus?<\/h2>\n
\n

Nipah is a rare brain-damaging virus that resides in fruit bats across South and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

Symptoms include flu-like symptoms, such as fevers, body aches and vomiting, which can worsen to respiratory syndrome and brain inflammation<\/p>\n

There is no vaccine or cure and mortality rates can be as high as 75%. Some survivors exhibit neurological effects, such as different personalities.<\/p>\n

The disease spreads\u00a0to humans through contact, like eating fruit or sap contaminated by the urine or saliva of infected fruit bats<\/p>\n

It was first identified during an outbreak in 1998 among pig farmers in Malaysia, where it killed over 100 people.<\/p>\n

Nipah has long been considered a possible epidemic threat to the\u00a0World Health Organization (WHO)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Disease control checkpoints were installed at Thailand\u2019s Suvarnabhumi and\u00a0Don Mueang airports on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Airport staff screened 332 travellers aboard two flights from Kolkata yesterday, according to the\u00a0BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Similar measures have been introduced at Phuket Airport, which offers a direct flight to Kolkata\u2019s international airport in West Bengal.<\/p>\n

If they\u00a0show Nipah symptoms<\/a>, such as a high fever, they may be quarantined.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/div>
Fruit bats carry Nipah virus (Picture: NurPhoto\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Travellers may be given a \u2018Health Beware Card\u2019 upon landing, warning them to seek medical attention if they exhibit symptoms.<\/p>\n

Public parks and wildlife areas have also been ordered by the government to toughen screenings for people entering caves.<\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t hunt, don\u2019t forage, don\u2019t eat,\u2019 officials said.<\/p>\n

Thai prime minster Anutin Charnvirakul\u00a0said today that no Nipah cases have been found in the country.<\/p>\n

Nepal\u2019s government has imposed prevention measures at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and other border points.<\/p>\n

Hospitals must flag suspicious cases to officials and health desks are screening travellers.<\/p>\n

\n
\"TOPSHOT<\/div>
Health workers contained an outbreak of Nipah virus in the southern state of Kerala in 2023 (Picture: AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taiwan, meanwhile, is set to upgrade the Nipah virus to a Category 5 notifiable disease, the highest classification.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Airports have begun rolling out Covid-style\u00a0health\u00a0checks amid\u00a0a possible outbreak of the Nipah virus\u00a0in\u00a0India. Thailand,\u00a0Nepal\u00a0and\u00a0Taiwan\u00a0are now\u00a0monitoring passengers for symptoms or stepping up cleaning\u00a0in a bid to prevent Nipah from jumping borders. Two nurses in Barasat, West Bengal, were sickened by the virus in late December after a patient died of an unknown disease. One is in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t