The Hendra virus is around again in Australia. 1 horse dead a vet seriously ill and another horse sick. This is one deadly zootonic virus.

What are Hendra and Nipah viruses?

Hendra virus (formerly called equine morbillivirus). 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. In this instance 15 horses were killed and one person and a few others sick.

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.
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.

:o great now we have AIDS for horses :unsure: and its in the country i live in :crying: hmmm maybe i should move to amsterdam <_< but the cold would kill me, still social freedoms are nice and disease freedoms are better.

ack! now all i can think about is ive recently been to QLD and has close contacts with equine *tissues* :blush: hard to regret that, hope i wont either.

what is QLD?

Qld is Queensland Australia.
Oh it not aids but as deadly and very quick too.
Fruit bats are the main carriers. They are the source of the virus.


This post has been edited by Whisper1959 on Dec 14 2004, 10:10 PM

Are the viruses you mentioned retroviruses? 'cuz if they are, then that would suck even more.

I find it truly insidious that you have a virus that uses your own immune system to spread throughout your body to infect other T-cells. In essence it's almost like cancer... :( Except this is a foreign "organism" rather than a malignant mutation within the body.

Wow, hmm. I've never actually heard about any of these. But diseases like this crop up from time to time, then naturally pass.

yes that is so. There is also another one similar in indornesia that affects pigs and humans.