A young girl was diagnosed with Nipah virus at Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) on Thursday – the first reported case at the hospital in three years.

The patient was identified as Rashida, 20, daughter of Md Babul Hossain of Gopalganj district. Babul said his daughter had been suffering from severe fever for the last few days. Sometimes, she used to faint.  

Her family took her to KMCH on January 11, where a medical board formed to treat her confirmed that she had been infected with Nipah, he added.

Dr SM Kamal Hossain, head of KMCH medicine department, said they are treating the young girl separately as the contagious disease poses high risk to its surroundings.    

No vaccine has been discovered for Nipah yet. Bat is the main carrier of the deadly virus. People mainly get infected while drinking raw date sap, he said.

Doctors have suggested people to avoid raw date sap.

Civil Surgeon Dr Sujat Ahmed said no Nipah infection was reported in the district in recent months.

Dr Rashida Khanam, director of the Divisional Health Office, said awareness is the only way to avoid Nipah.  

In 2016, two people were diagnosed with Nipah at KMCH but both died within a few days.

Nipah virus is transmitted from animals to humans and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people, according to World Health Organisation.

There is no vaccine for the virus, which is spread through body fluids and can cause inflammation of the brain.

In 2001, Nipah virus was identified as the causative agent in an outbreak of human disease occurring in Bangladesh. Genetic sequencing confirmed this virus as Nipah virus, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Six people were injured in a collision between two launches on the Meghna River in Alubazar area early Friday.

The injured were identified as—Tarikul Islam, 14, Faizur Rahman, 12, Saykul Karim, Abu Taher, 16, Mamun, 16, and Russel, 12.

Abu Taher, officer-in-charge of Chandpur River Police Station, said MV Prince Awlad-4 from Barishal’s Hizla and MV Tipu-12 from Dhaka collided at 12am in a place between Alubazar and Ishanbala in the river, leaving six people injured.

All of the injured were admitted to Chandpur General Hospital at 3am, he added.

Earlier on Monday, a woman and her son were killed and 10 others injured after a passenger launch hit another on the Meghna River in Majherchar area.

Two people were killed and 10 others injured on Friday as two buses collided head-on in Shantirhat area of Patiya upazila in the district.

The identities of the deceased could now be know yet.

Officer-in-charge of Patiya Highway Police Bimal Chandra Bhowmik said a bus of Shyamoli Paribahan collided head-on with another bus in Shantirhat around 10:45 am, killing two people on the spot.

Six among the injured were taken to the Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), he said.

They also seized the two buses from the spot, he added.

A man and his nephew were killed in a road accident  in front of Saddam Market in the city’s Jatrabari area on Thursday night.

The deceased were identified as Anwar Hossain, 40 and his nephew Salauddin, 23 of Bhuigarh in Fatulla of Narayanganj district.

Quoting local people, police said, the accident took place around 11:30 pm when a bus hit them while they were crossing a road, leaving them dead on the spot, said Ahmed Nawazi, sub-inspector of Jatrabari Police Station.

Police in a drive arrested a man for attempting to rape a minor girl from Bonbelgharia in Sadar upazila on Thursday night.

The arrestee is Masud, a resident of the village.

Quoting local people police said Masud took the class III student to a nearby pond  assuring her of giving a fish Tuesday.  Later, he tried to rape the girl after threatening her to kill with a knife, said Kazi Jalal Uddin, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station.

Hearing screams of the girl, local people went to the spot and rescued the girl while Masud went into hiding.

On Thursday night, when people came to know that Masud is at his home they handed him over to police after giving a good thrashing .