Sri Lanka, Jan. 29 -- The Ministry of Health and Mass Media has issued an official statement addressing public concerns following recent media reports on the Nipah virus.

The statement confirmed that several cases of the Nipah virus have been reported in West Bengal of India.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not imposed or recommended any international travel restrictions in response to the situation.

Accordingly, health authorities emphasized that the risk of transmission to Sri Lanka is considerably minimal.

The ministry explained that the Nipah virus is a zoonotic disease primarily found in animals, particularly fruit bats (megabats), and that transmission to humans occurs only in rare instances through close contac...