Minor dies of Nipah virus in Rajshahi

A seven-year old minor boy infected with Nipah virus died while undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) on Monday. 

The deceased was identified as Md Swad,  the son of Sanowar Ali of Ishwardi upazila in Pabna.

Swad died while receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of the hospital.

Dr Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, the ICU in-charge at the hospital, said that the boy had consumed raw date juice - practically the only mode of transmission of the virus.

According to icddr,b in Bangladesh, Nipah virus is usually acquired through consumption of date palm sap contaminated with bat saliva or urine.

With Swad, two Nipah virus-infected patients have died at the same hospital already this year. 

The IEDCR recorded the other death on January 3.

A 35-year-old woman died in the district hospital after she drank date juice. The country recorded three deaths from the virus in 2022.