Nurse who contracted Nipah virus dies of secondary infections; 200 contacts test negative

KOLKATA: The 25-year-old female nurse infected by the Nipah virus succumbed to secondary infections on Thursday evening, after a 37-day-long battle with the infection and the complications caused by the virus at Barasat Hospital.

The male nurse, who was also found infected by the virus and was discharged from hospital, is doing well at home. These two were the only Nipah-positive cases found in the state during the outbreak in early Jan, with none of the 200-odd close contacts of the duo testing positive for the virus.




The female nurse was shifted to Barasat Hospital, her workplace, on Jan 6 from a hospital in Burdwan as her condition deteriorated after two days of treatment., She was already on mechanical ventilation at the first hospital. The male nurse, however, got himself admitted directly to Barasat Hospital, where he is also attached. NIV Pune confirmed the Nipah infection in the samples of the two nurse colleagues on Jan 13. She slipped into a coma, and her condition was critical throughout.

Health department sources said the female nurse was Nipah-negative, with two consecutive tests, the last being on Feb 8. She was also off ventilation in the past 10 days. Despite the improvement she developed secondary infections and other severe systemic complications, including sepsis with septic shock and autonomic dysfunction."She had a cardiac arrest and was declared dead at 4.30 pm on Thursday," said a source at Barasat Hospital.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Valentine's day wishes, messages and quotes !