Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 15 (ANI): Amid reports of two suspected Nipah virus cases in West Bengal, Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday said that the first step is to contain the virus and its eradication should be the priority of the government.

'It has to be contained first, and eradication should be the priority of the govt. Everybody should join together to see that we take a strong stand against the Nipah virus and take all precautionary measures to protect people from that...' he told ANI.

Earlier, on Tuesday, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda, amid reports of two suspected Nipah virus cases in West Bengal, said that the government has initiated a coordinated response to prevent a potential outbreak.

Taking immediate action, the Union Minister said that the central government has deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team to support the State Government in containing the virus.

The team comprises experts from the All India Institute of Health and Public Hygiene, Kolkata; the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune; the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai; AIIMS Kalyani; and the Department of Wildlife, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

'Yesterday, on January 11th, two suspected cases of Nipah virus were found at the ICMR Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory in Kalyani... Coordinated action was immediately initiated to contain the outbreak. Upon receiving information about these cases last night, the Union Health Secretary discussed the situation with the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary of Health of West Bengal. To provide assistance to West Bengal and to contain the outbreak, we immediately established a National Joint Outbreak Response Team. We have deployed a team with members from All India Institute of Health and Public Hygiene, Kolkata, National Institute of Virology, Pune, National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani, and Department of Wildlife, Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change to West Bengal,' said Nadda.

The Union Minister confirmed that protocols for the Nipah virus and other communicable diseases have been shared with the state's Integrated Disease Surveillance Unit, in accordance with central government guidelines. (ANI)