Pakistan tightens border health checks to block spread of Nipah virus

Pakistan has started to enforce strict health checks at all entry points in the country order to prevent the cross-border transmission of Nipah virus.

It became the latest in a string of countries in Asia to adopt such measures after two cases were detected in India in December 2025, Caliber.Az reports citing Reuters.

Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia have already imposed such measures for incoming travellers.

According to Pakistani health authorities,  strict health surveillance will be conducted at all points of entry with immediate effect, including international airports, seaports, and ground/ land border crossings, to ensure early detection and prompt response. Travellers are required to provide information about their travel history of the previous 21 days, while also being requested to undergo thermal screening and clinical assessment at entry points.

Nipah is being carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs and can trigger a deadly brain-swelling fever in humans. It can also spread directly from person to person through close contact. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified it as a priority pathogen because of its ability to spark fast‑moving outbreaks, its fatality rate of 40 per cent. Several vaccines are already in development but remain in the testing stage.

By Nazrin Sadigova