Henipaviruses: An Updated Review Focusing on the Pteropid Reservoir and Features of Transmission

Abstract

Summary The henipaviruses, Hendra virus and Nipah virus, are pathogens that have emerged from flying foxes in Australia and South‐east Asia to infect both livestock and humans, often fatally. Since the emergence of Hendra virus in Australia in 1994 and the identification of Australian flying foxes as hosts to this virus, our appreciation of bats as reservoir hosts of henipaviruses has expanded globally to include much of Asia and areas of Africa. Despite this, little is currently known of the mechanisms by which bats harbour viruses capable of causing such severe disease in other terrestrial mammals. Pteropid bat ecology, henipavirus virology, therapeutic developments and features of henipavirus infection, pathology and disease in humans and other mammals are reviewed elsewhere in detail. This review focuses on bats as reservoir hosts to henipaviruses and features of transmission of Hendra virus and Nipah virus following spillover from these reservoir hosts.

Isolation of multiple novel paramyxoviruses from pteropid bat urine

“…In addition, 2011 was an unprecedented year with regard to the number of HeV cases. There were 18 spillover events in that year alone, compared with 14 from 1994 to 2010 (Clayton et al, 2013;Field et al, 2012). The proportion of HeV PCR-positive pooled urine samples collected during the outbreak period in 2011 was extremely high (up to 67 % for some collections).…”

Species-specific and individual differences in Nipah virus replication in porcine and human airway epithelial cells

“…Fruit bats in Southeast Asia have been identified as natural virus reservoir of zoonotic NiV (Clayton et al, 2013;Luby et al, 2009;Yob et al, 2001) that can cause clinical disease in a wide range of mammalian species. NiV was identified in 1998/1999 when it emerged for the first time in Malaysia and Singapore causing a major outbreak of severe respiratory disease in pigs.…”

Free-living animals as a source of zoonotic microorganisms

“…Z kolei u ludzi na 7 zarejestrowanych osób u 4 wykazano typowe objawy grypopodobne i/lub neurologiczne (2). Natomiast wirus Nipah był przyczyną zachorowań ludzi w Malezji i Singapurze (2,25). Z 265 pacjentów głównie pracujących w fermach trzody chlewnej aż 105 zmarło z objawami gorączki i zapalenia mózgu.…”

“…Należy zaznaczyć, że transmisja wirusa Nipah to zakażenia na linii nietoperz-człowiek, a następnie człowiek-człowiek. (2,25). Wirus Menangle zidentyfikowano w gospodarstwie trzody chlewnej.…”