Nurse survives Nipah, urges caution and awareness among public
Telegraph | 5 February 2026
A tube in his mouth, fear on his mind.
A 25-year-old male nurse who tested positive for the Nipah virus said that despite irritation in the throat and uncertainty about what lay ahead, he had faith in his doctors and fellow nurses.
“After I was taken off ventilation and regained consciousness, I came to know that I have Nipah. I still had the tube in my mouth, and there was irritation. Despite the irritation and my fear, I had faith in the doctors and nurses,” the nurse told Metro from his home on Wednesday.
This newspaper is not revealing his identity or the location of his home.
He is still very weak physically and is undergoing physiotherapy.
But the young nurse said he was waiting to resume duty and wanted to raise awareness about Nipah among his colleagues and the general public.
“I have suffered and I know the symptoms. I will tell people when they should get checked for the Nipah virus. I want to raise awareness about the virus and its symptoms,” he said.
“I am not sure how I came in contact with the deadly virus. Maybe it was while treating a patient. But I will continue to work as a nurse. I am waiting to rejoin the hospital,” he added.
Two nurses of Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Barasat, tested positive for the virus last month.
The other nurse, a woman, is still in a coma but has been taken off ventilation support, a hospital official said on Wednesday.
The male nurse, now at home and in isolation, is finding it difficult to keep his balance while walking.
“I was bedridden for over a month. I am still very weak and have an unstable gait. So, I am undergoing physiotherapy,” he said.
He was a nursing student during the Covid pandemic. “I was sent home. But I saw many people around me suffer,” he recalled.
This time, during his illness, he did not know he had Nipah for several days after falling sick. The nurse said he had a high-grade fever for several days.
On December 29, he was admitted to the Barasat hospital where he is employed. “I got admitted because the weakness was increasing,” he said.
According to a hospital official, because the nurse was already at the healthcare facility and the interventions were quick, he recovered. “As the intervention was quick, there was no hypoxic brain injury,” the official said.
The official suggested there was an initial delay in diagnosis for the other nurse.
The female nurse was at home when she developed a fever. One day, she became unconscious and was first taken to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, and later shifted to Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Barasat, where she is also employed.
“She has been taken off ventilator. The oxygen support is minimum but she is still in a coma,” said another official of the hospital.
A state health department official said 210 people who had come in contact with the two nurses who had Nipah were tested, and all results were negative.
“However, we are keeping the surveillance, and if there is any symptom, we will get samples tested at the National Institute of Virology, Pune,” the official added.