One patient taken off ventilator, another responds to treatment
Times of India | 16 January 2026
Kolkata: Samples of the two patients admitted at Beliaghata ID Hospital and close to 40 others from the close contacts of the two confirmed cases have tested negative for the Nipah virus. Meanwhile, the condition of the 25-year-old male nurse is improving, and he was taken off the ventilator on Thursday. Doctors at Barasat Hospital also saw a flicker of hope as the female nurse started responding to treatment. So far, despite the Nipah scare, there are only two positive cases in the state.
"The male nurse who was on ventilation was extubated, and he is responding to treatment. Another crucial development is that the female patient, though on ventilation, is responding to ‘painful stimulation'. She is trying to open her eyes," said sources at Barasat Hospital, where the nurse duo is undergoing treatment for the Nipah infection.
The NIV Pune has already confirmed infection in the two nurses at Barasat Hospital. Both nurses attached to the hospital are being treated by a team that includes a pulmonologist, a neurologist and a critical care specialist. The condition of the 25-year-old female nurse was more critical, as she had slipped into a coma. A medical team from the state health department is also supporting the trio.
The two admitted at Beliaghata ID Hospital are stable. One of them, a house staff member from Burdwan Hospital, had direct exposure to the female nurse, where she received treatment before being shifted to Barasat Hospital. The other patient, a woman in her 60s, has no report of contact with a positive patient.
Sources said the young doctor admitted at ID Hospital helped his seniors in intubating the female nurse on Jan 4 at Burdwan Hospital, when there was no inkling that the nurse was infected by the virus. He was among the 38 close contacts traced from Burdwan Hospital and was in home isolation.
Sources said the 27-year-old developed fever a week later, prompting health officials to admit him to the state's nodal hospital for infectious diseases, where isolation cabins are kept for Nipah suspected or confirmed cases.
"The male patient, who is a young doctor, is stable. While fever and malaise are gone, he has a cough and mild chest discomfort. He also has a history of hypertension. His overall parameters are normal, and he is receiving all required treatment. His condition is under close monitoring," said medicine head Biswanath Sharma Sarkar.
The other patient admitted to the Beliaghata hospital isolation ward is a woman from Nadia who has no history of contact with a Nipah-positive patient. She was referred by a private doctor as she complained of some symptoms of the infection, as she consumed raw palm date sap. She has comorbidities, including diabetes.
Officials said two samples sent by a private hospital off EM Bypass from patients with symptoms resembling Nipah infection tested negative for the virus.