| What are Hendra and Nipah viruses? | |
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| Nipah virus electron micrograph Image courtesy of C.S. Goldsmith and P.E. Rollin (CDC), and K.B. Chua (Malaysia). | |
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Hendra virus (formerly called equine morbillivirus) is a member of the family Paramyxoviridae. The virus was first isolated in 1994 from specimens obtained during an outbreak of respiratory and neurologic disease in horses and humans in Hendra, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia.
Nipah virus, also a member of the family Paramyxoviridae, is related but not identical to Hendra virus. Nipah virus was initially isolated in 1999 upon examining samples from an outbreak of encephalitis and respiratory illness among adult men in Malaysia and Singapore. Its name originated from Sungai Nipah, a village in the Malaysian Penninsula where pig farmers became ill with encephalitis.
| Where are Hendra and Nipah viruses found? | |
The natural reservoir for Hendra virus is thought to be flying foxes (bats of the genus Pteropus) found in Australia. The natural reservoir for Nipah virus is still under investigation, but preliminary data suggest that bats of the genus Pteropus are also the reservoirs for Nipah virus in Malaysia.
| Where are the diseases found? | |
Hendra virus caused disease in horses in Australia, and the human infections there were due to direct exposure to tissues and secretions from infected horses. Nipah virus caused a relatively mild disease in pigs in Malaysia and Singapore. Nipah virus was transmitted to humans, cats, and dogs through close contact with infected pigs.
| How are Hendra and Nipah viruses transmitted to humans? | |
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Pig farm in
Malaysia, 1999. |
In Australia, humans became ill after exposure to body fluids and excretions of horses infected with Hendra virus. In Malaysia and Singapore, humans were infected with Nipah virus through close contact with infected pigs.
