Kerala Nipah crisis: Man who contained virus in 2001 sees no need to panic

To stop the spread, you may need to quarantine the area, says Dr NK Ganguly, former director, ICMR

When the first outbreak of Nipah (NiV) hit India in 2001 at Siliguri, N K Ganguly, the then director general, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Director General of Health (DGH) was there to oversee, supervise and understand what was happening on the ground. Dr Ganguly is a Microbiologist specialising in tropical diseases. Currently, Dr Ganguly is the President of Apollo Hospitals Educational and Research Foundation (AHERF). He wrote the first paper in India on the Nipah virus. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

When and where did the first outbreak in India take place?

In India, the first outbreak