Nurse infected with Nipah virus dies of cardiac arrest in Bengal hospital

“The female nursing staff died on Thursday afternoon. Her condition had deteriorated over the past few day,” the health ministry said.

A nurse who was diagnosed with Nipah virus in January this year died of cardiac arrest at a private hospital in North 24 Parganas district near Kolkata on Thursday, state health officials said.

The nurse had been taken off ventilator support at the end of January. (REUTERS/File Photo)

Two nursing staff members — a man and a woman — from the hospital were diagnosed with Nipah virus in January. The man was discharged after treatment that month, while the woman was still undergoing treatment.

“The female nursing staff, who was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Barasat, died on Thursday afternoon. Her condition had deteriorated over the past few days. The other patient was released earlier,” said an official of the state health department.

“She died of cardiac arrest. Though she had recovered from Nipah infection, she was suffering from multiple complications,” said another official.

Both nursing staff members worked at the same hospital. They were diagnosed with the virus in January after returning home. The victim was a resident of East Burdwan district. She had visited a relative’s house in Nadia before being infected.

“At present, there are no active Nipah cases in the state,” an official said.