Indian authorities said they had ensured "timely containment" of the deadly Nipah virus after two cases were confirmed in West Bengal state. "Enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing, and field investigations were undertaken... which ensured timely containment of the cases," India's health ministry said in a statement late Tuesday. In India, the first Nipah outbreak was reported in West Bengal in 2001. In 2018, at least 17 people died from Nipah in Kerala, and in 2023, two people died from the virus, also in the southern state. Fruit bats are the natural carriers of the virus and have been identified as the most likely cause of subsequent outbreaks.