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Bangladesh reports first Nipah virus death this year
Bangladesh has confirmed its first Nipah virus (NiV) death in 2026, with officials reporting that a woman succumbed to the brain-damaging illness after consuming raw date juice.
The case was reported in the northern Naogaon district, Sharmin Sultana, senior scientific officer at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, said Saturday.
The patient in her 40s developed symptoms consistent with NiV infection on Jan. 21, including fever, headache, muscle cramps, loss of appetite (anorexia), weakness, and vomiting, followed by hypersalivation, disorientation, and convulsion, according to the World Health Organization.
On Jan. 27, the woman became unconscious and was referred by a local physician to a tertiary hospital.
Bangladesh reported its first case of NiV infection in 2001.
Since then, human infections have been reported almost every year. In 2025, four laboratory-confirmed fatal cases were reported in Bangladesh, reports UNB.