An anti-viral drug widely used during the Covid-19 pandemic is being administered to two nurses diagnosed with the Nipah virus and undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Barasat, North 24-Parganas.
Remdesivir could not initially be sourced by the hospital, but the state health department procured and supplied the drug, sources said.
Samples of the two nurses, sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, tested positive for Nipah, state government officials confirmed on Tuesday. The health department has also issued a treatment guideline to the private hospital.
“While one of the nurses is in a coma, the condition of the other has improved slightly, but remains very critical. Remdesivir is now being administered to both patients,” said a state government official. The drug will be given for five to nine days, depending on the patients’ response.
The two nurses work at the same Barasat hospital where they are currently admitted. The state health department has constituted a committee of medical experts to closely monitor their treatment.
Alongside remdesivir, another anti-viral drug, ribavirin, is also being administered, sources said. “Ribavirin is given twice a day. However, there is uncertainty about its effectiveness against Nipah,” an official said.
A third anti-viral drug under consideration is favipiravir, according to health department sources. “However, favipiravir is not available at present,” the sources said.
In addition to anti-viral medication, the nurses are receiving supportive care. “They are suffering from severe respiratory distress, and respiratory support is being provided,” a source said.
“Remdesivir has been used for Nipah virus on a compassionate-use basis, particularly during outbreaks in Kerala,” an official said.
Experts said that there is no proven anti-viral treatment for Nipah virus infection, although some drugs have been tried during earlier outbreaks.
“A Lancet article published in 2025 identified remdesivir as a candidate drug that could be evaluated in trials for the treatment of Nipah virus,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, an infectious diseases expert based in Calcutta. “Remdesivir was also used in the treatment of Ebola, though without success,” he added.
Bhattacharya said ribavirin is approved globally for the treatment of Hepatitis C and has seen experimental use in diseases such as measles and respiratory syncytial virus. “There are also reports of its use during Nipah outbreaks,” he said.
He underlined that healthcare workers face the highest risk of infection during Nipah outbreaks. “It is very important that those working in medical facilities have proper awareness,” he said.
Favipiravir, currently unavailable, is an anti-viral drug developed in Japan and primarily approved for treating influenza. Experts said it has also been used on an emergency basis for other viral infections, including Ebola and Covid-19, and has previously been administered on a compassionate basis during Nipah outbreaks in Kerala.
