Nipah virus: A recently emergent deadly paramyxovirus

A paramyxovirus virus termed Nipah virus has been identified as the etiolog ic agent of an outbreak of severe encephalitis in people with close contact exposure to pigs in Malaysia and Singapore. The outbreak was first noted i n late September 1998 and by mid-June 1999, more than 265 encephalitis case s, including 105 deaths, had been reported in Malaysia, and 11 cases of enc ephalitis or respiratory illness with one death had been reported in Singap ore. Electron microscopic, serologic, and genetic studies indicate that thi s virus belongs to the family Paramyxoviridae and is mast closely related t o the recently discovered Hendra virus. We suggest that these two viruses a re representative of a new genus within the family Paramyxoviridae. Like He ndra virus. Nipah virus is unusual among the paramyxoviruses in its ability to infect and cause potentially fatal disease in a number of host species, including humans.