Soldier from Kerala dies in Kolkata

A Indian soldier has died in West Bengal state of suspected infection by the Nipah virus, an official said yesterday, heightening fears the rare disease may be spreading.

Nipah, which is mainly spread by bats, is confirmed to have killed 13 people in the latest outbreak which so far has been restricted to the southern state of Kerala.

The soldier was admitted to hospital in Kolkata on May 20, a week after returning from holiday in Kerala, according to defence ministry spokeswoman Dipannita Dhar.

"A soldier, Seenu Prasad, died of suspected Nipah virus in Command Hospital in Kolkata on Sunday," Dhar told AFP.

"He had shown symptoms similar to that of Nipah virus infection." Body fluid and blood samples were being examined, the spokeswoman added.

There is no vaccination for the virus, which induces flu-like symptoms that lead to brain damage and a coma and has a 70 percent mortality rate.

Nipah has killed more than 260 people in Malaysia, Bangladesh and India since it first appeared in Malaysia in 1998.