What happened
Pakistan decided on Wednesday, 28 January 2026, to enforce “strict and enhanced health surveillance” at all entry points in the country with immediate effect in order to prevent the cross-border transmission of Nipah virus, according to Dawn.
The move followed India’s confirmation of two Nipah cases in West Bengal in December last year, and similar screening steps taken by several other countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia. Border Health Services-Pakistan (BHS-P), an ancillary department of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, issued the advisory, which referred to a regional alert reported by international and regional public health surveillance mechanisms, including the World Health Organisation’s South East Asia Region Epidemiological Bulletin.
Separately, the National Institute of Health (NIH) issued an alert to health departments, healthcare providers and BHS-P regarding the potential threat of Nipah virus spillover into Pakistan. According to the advisory, Pakistan had not yet reported a human case.
What the advisory requires
The instructions apply to every point of entry “including international airports, seaports, and ground/land border crossings, without any exception”. They require:
- 100 per cent screening of all arriving passengers, transit passengers, crew members, drivers, helpers and support staff, with no individual allowed entry without health clearance by BHS-P;
- mandatory verification of the country of origin and complete travel and transit history for the preceding 21 days, irrespective of nationality or travel status;
- thermal screening and clinical assessment, with special vigilance for travellers originating from or transiting Nipah-affected or high-risk regions;
- immediate isolation of anyone matching the suspected-case definition, restricted from onward movement and managed under infection prevention and control protocols, with the conveyance and surrounding area disinfected; and
- daily case or nil reports recorded in the BHS-P system and shared with the National Command and Operation Centre and the National International Health Regulation Focal Point.
“Any false declaration, concealment, or misreporting of travel history shall be immediately documented and reported to the competent authorities for further necessary action,” the advisory stated. The measures remain in force until further orders.
What the virus is and who is at risk
Nipah, carried by fruit bats and animals such as pigs, can trigger a deadly brain-swelling fever in humans and can spread directly from person to person through close contact. It is classified as a priority pathogen by the World Health Organisation because of its ability to spark fast-moving outbreaks, a fatality rate of 40 to 75 per cent, and the absence of an approved vaccine or cure.
Microbiologist Prof Dr Javaid Usman told Dawn the virus was named after a place in Malaysia and was spread through the droppings of fruit bats and pigs, with symptoms including fever and neurological disorders. Chief of the Centre for Disease Control at the NIH, Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, said the outbreak was the 51st since 2001 and that there were “very few chances of identifying patients” because the incubation period of the virus is nine to 14 days. Infectious disease expert Dr Rana Safdar said the risk of spread to Pakistan “stays minimal” and cautioned that the passenger screening usually deployed at airports “does not help much in preventing virus importation”.
Why it matters
The advisory directs provinces with international airports or land border points to maintain real-time communication with BHS-P, designate at least one tertiary-care hospital or infectious disease unit for isolation and clinical management, strengthen laboratory capacity for safe sample handling, and place rapid response teams on standby for case investigation and contact tracing of acute encephalitis clusters. Travellers returning from affected areas within 21 days who develop symptoms have been asked to self-isolate, seek medical attention and disclose their travel history.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 28 January 2026.
- Dawn — Pakistan orders screening of travellers in view of Nipah virus threatPublished 28 January 2026 · Contemporaneous report: confirms the BHS-P advisory, the requirement for 100pc screening and 21-day travel-history checks at all entry points, India's two confirmed cases in West Bengal, comparable measures by other countries, and the comments of Prof Dr Javaid Usman, Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan and Dr Rana Safdar.
