Manufacturing panic: How disinformation Is miscasting India’s Nipah situation

In recent weeks, a familiar pattern has resurfaced in South Asia’s information ecosystem. A limited, contained public-health incident in India has been deliberately exaggerated into a narrative of national crisis. This time, the trigger is the Nipah virus. Social media accounts, fringe commentators, and a section of Pakistan-based digital outlets are pushing the claim that India is “reeling” under a runaway Nipah outbreak, edging toward another pandemic. The reality, backed by verified epidemiological data, is very different.

India is not facing a Nipah crisis. It is managing a small, contained cluster with transparency, speed, and established public-health protocols.

As of late January 2026, India has confirmed only two laboratory-verified cases of Nipah virus infection, both detected in West Bengal. Crucially, both patients were healthcare workers, identified early, isolated promptly, and treated under strict infection-control procedures. Extensive contact tracing covering 196 identified contacts has yielded zero additional positive cases. There is no evidence of community transmission, no unexplained clusters, and no spread beyond this initial healthcare-linked exposure.

Yet online, a parallel reality has been constructed. Posts originating from across the border routinely inflate numbers, falsely claim “five or more infections,” describe “rapid spread,” or suggest that India is concealing data. Some even link the situation to international sporting events or travel, insinuating recklessness by Indian authorities. None of these claims are supported by official data, independent reporting, or international health bodies.

This is not accidental distortion. It fits a long-observed pattern of narrative opportunism, where health scares are repurposed to question India’s governance capacity, administrative competence, or institutional credibility.

To be clear, Nipah virus is a serious pathogen. It is zoonotic, has a high fatality rate in some outbreaks, and warrants vigilance. India has experienced Nipah episodes before, particularly in Kerala and West Bengal, and those experiences have strengthened its surveillance and containment capabilities. What is being ignored by disinformation peddlers is precisely this track record of learning and institutional response.

The current episode demonstrates that maturity. Detection was swift. Laboratory confirmation was transparent. Contacts were traced aggressively. Surveillance was expanded without triggering panic. The Union Health Ministry explicitly warned against circulating unverified figures, recognising that fear spreads faster than viruses in the digital age.

International media coverage broadly reflects this reality. Reputable outlets have consistently described the situation as “serious but contained.” Reports emphasise precautionary airport screening in parts of Asia not because India is collapsing under an outbreak, but because neighbouring countries are applying standard risk-mitigation protocols. Such measures are routine in a post-COVID world and do not imply uncontrolled transmission or systemic failure.

However, in Pakistan and parts of Bangladesh’s digital and media ecosystem, the tone shifts sharply. Headlines and commentary lean heavily on worst-case fatality percentages while omitting the most relevant statistic of all: the actual number of confirmed cases. Tweets describe a “spreading virus” without naming new infections. Commentators cite WHO priority status while ignoring WHO-endorsed containment principles already in play. Fear is amplified; context is stripped away.

This tactic serves multiple purposes. It externalises anxiety by projecting threat outward. It feeds domestic political narratives by framing India as a regional health risk. And it exploits residual pandemic trauma to maximise emotional impact. In information warfare terms, this is classic amplification of hazard divorced from probability.

The epidemiology does not support panic. Nipah does not spread through casual contact or aerosols like influenza or COVID-19. Transmission typically requires close exposure to bodily fluids, often in caregiving or healthcare settings. Past outbreaks have remained localised when infection-control practices were enforced. That is exactly what is happening now.

None of this argues for complacency. Vigilance is essential. Healthcare systems must remain alert, laboratories ready, and communication clear. But vigilance is not hysteria, and preparedness is not crisis.

India’s challenge today is not an exploding outbreak but a misinformation spiral that risks undermining public trust. When exaggerated claims circulate faster than official updates, they create unnecessary fear among citizens, diaspora communities, travellers, and investors. They also distract from genuine global health cooperation by turning precaution into accusation.

The deeper issue is credibility. India’s public-health institutions are being tested not only by pathogens but by narrative manipulation. The appropriate response is not denial or bravado, but calm insistence on verified facts, transparent reporting, and international peer validation.

The truth is straightforward. Two cases. Zero spread beyond traced contacts. Continuous monitoring. No concealment. No collapse.

In a region where disinformation often travels unchecked, facts remain the most effective vaccine against panic. India’s Nipah story, so far, is not one of failure or fear, but of detection, containment, and responsible governance. Anything else is not reporting. It is insinuation masquerading as concern.