Thailand screens 1,700 passengers from India for Nipah virus

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had instructed relevant agencies to tighten disease surveillance, prompting the deployment of airport screening teams from late last week, Nation Thailand reported.

Officers at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in Bangkok and Phuket airport have begun enhanced screening of inbound passengers, particularly from West Bengal since Sunday, according to the Bangkok Post.

Measures include temperature checks and on-site assessments of passengers showing signs of illness.

Those found to have a high fever or symptoms suggestive of Nipah will be transferred to quarantine facilities. Those who develop symptoms within 21 days of arrival have been advised to seek medical attention immediately and inform healthcare providers of their travel history and the date of onset of symptoms.

Nearly 700 travelers from the affected area enter Thailand each day through the three major airports.

Thailand has not detected any Nipah cases, and has never recorded a case in the past.

Indian authorities race to contain a Nipah virus cluster in West Bengal where five cases have been confirmed in areas near Kolkata, including infections among healthcare workers, China's Global Times reported.

Around 100 people have been quarantined after the virus was detected at a hospital.

A doctor, a nurse and a staff member tested positive following the first two confirmed cases, a male patient and a female nurse, the U.K.'s The Independent reported.

Nipah is a zoonotic virus that spreads from animals to humans and, in some cases, between humans, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO says Nipah can range from mild illness to acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis, and has a fatality rate of 40-75% depending on the outbreak and health-system capacity.