K. B. Chua,
1
W.
J. Bellini,
2*
P. A. Rota,
2
B. H. Harcourt,
2
A. Tamin,
2
S. K. Lam,
1
T. G. Ksiazek,
2
P. E. Rollin,
2
S. R. Zaki,
2
W.-J. Shieh,
2
C. S. Goldsmith,
2
D. J. Gubler,
3
J. T. Roehrig,
3
B. Eaton,
4
A. R. Gould,
4
J. Olson,
2
H. Field,
5
P. Daniels,
4
A. E. Ling,
6
C. J. Peters,
2
L. J. Anderson,
2
B. W. J. Mahy
2
A paramyxovirus virus termed Nipah virus has been
identified as the etiologic agent of an outbreak of severe encephalitis in people with close contact exposure to pigs in Malaysia and Singapore. The outbreak was first noted in late September 1998 and by
mid-June 1999, more than 265 encephalitis cases, including 105 deaths,
had been reported in Malaysia, and 11 cases of encephalitis or
respiratory illness with one death had been reported in Singapore. Electron microscopic, serologic, and genetic studies indicate that this
virus belongs to the family Paramyxoviridae and is most closely related to the recently discovered Hendra virus. We suggest that these two viruses are representative of a new genus within the
family Paramyxoviridae. Like Hendra 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.
1 Department of Medical Microbiology,
University of Malaya Medical Center, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2 Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases,
National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
3 Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, NCID, CDC,
Fort Collins, CO 80522, USA.
4 Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australian Animal
Health Laboratory, 5 Portarlington Road, East Geelong, Geelong,
Victoria 3220, Australia.
5 Department of Primary
Industries, Animal Research Institute, 665 Fairfield Road,
Yeerongpilly, Queensland 4105, Australia.
6 Department of Pathology, Singapore General
Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 0316.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed.
