Watch what you eat: ‘Gur, patali’ fine but raw date palm sap a problem in ‘nolen gur’ season
Times of India | 14 January 2026
Kolkata: Avoid the lip-smacking fresh date palm sap — better known as khejur rash — for now. This refreshing drink is also a favourite of fruit bats, which can contaminate the liquid with their saliva or other body fluids and transmit it to humans. Health experts also cautioned people to wash fruits properly before consuming them, or peel them off to be on the safe side, as these nocturnal mammals love to take a bite on fruits hanging on trees.
"This is the peak season for date palm sap, which many consume on a regular basis. For many Kolkatans who visit rural Bengal on short vacations, relishing this sap is on their bucket list. For now, they must avoid consuming this raw sap as it is a potential source of the Nipah virus," cautioned paediatrics professor Prabhas Prasun Giri of the Institute of Child Health. "But gur — patali or nolen — that is prepared after an intense heating process of this raw sap, is safe to consume," he added.
While the fresh raw sap is not available in Kolkata, processed products like gur, patali gur, or nolen gur are available in city markets. This is the time of year when sweets laden with nolen gur are in high demand.
In fact, in most of the previous Nipah outbreaks in India, including Kerala and Bengal, and neighbouring Bangladesh, the primary source of infection was traced to fresh palm sap contaminated by fruit bats. The fresh date sap is collected in a pot that is hung overnight on the tree.
"Fresh date sap can be a potential source of Nipah infection, as it may contain the virus if it is contaminated by bats during the process of collection. Hence, people should avoid it now," said infectious diseases specialist Arkendu Basu of Mission Hospital, Durgapur.
"These bats feed on different types of fruits. Therefore, we need to be very careful while eating fruits. Proper washing and peeling of fruits can be a good step to remain safe, while avoiding fruits that show signs of bat bites, and not consuming fruits that fall on the ground, as there is a chance that these were bitten by bats. The season for Nipah outbreaks in India is mostly between Dec and May," said Bhaskar Narayan Chaudhuri, chief microbiologist at Peerless Hospital.
In fact, leftover fruits from these bats that fall on the ground are a source of infection for animals like pigs and horses that consume them, making them intermediate hosts. While no case of Nipah transmission from these animals was reported in India, Nipah infection in humans from these animals was documented in Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Experts said the virus can survive in raw date sap or fruits for several days, making these potential modes of transmission. However, the condensed product or the dry date, which are processed, do not carry this threat.