Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
Zoonotic disease in Australia caused by a novel member of the paramyxoviridae.
Abstract: Twenty-three horses and three humans in Queensland, Australia, were infected with a novel member of the Paramyxoviridae family of viruses in two geographically distinct outbreaks. Two of the humans died-one died of rapid-onset respiratory illness, and the other died of encephalitis. The third infected human developed an influenza-like illness and made a complete recovery. All infected humans had close contact with sick horses. Since the two outbreaks occurred at sites 1,000 km apart and no known contact between the two groups of humans and horses occurred, extensive testing of animals and birds common to the two areas was conducted. Fruit bats (Pteropus species) were found to carry a virus identical to that found in the infected humans and horses. Although there was no contact between the infected humans and the bats, some form of close contact between the horses and bats is the likely mode of infection.
Publication Date: 1998-07-24 PubMed ID: 9675464DOI: 10.1086/514614Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Case Reports
- Journal Article
- Animal Health
- Animal Science
- Diagnosis
- Disease control
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Etiology
- Disease Management
- Disease Outbreaks
- Disease Surveillance
- Disease Transmission
- Disease Treatment
- Epidemiology
- Equine Health
- Horses
- Infectious Disease
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- Veterinary Science
- Virus
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- Zoonotic Diseases
Summary
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The researchers in this study investigated a new disease that affected twenty-three horses and three humans in Queensland, Australia and discovered that it was caused by a novel member of the Paramyxoviridae family of viruses, which was found in fruit bats.
Objective of the Research
- The study aimed to identify the cause of a novel disease observed in Australia that affected several horses and three humans, leading to two fatal outcomes.
Methods and Findings
- The researchers noted that the disease outbreaks occurred in two distinct geographical locations, with a distance of 1,000 km between them and no known interaction.
- They undertook extensive testing of animals and birds common to both outbreak areas in order to discover any potential sources or vectors for the disease.
- The virus causing the disease was found present in the fruit bats of the Pteropus species in these areas. The virus in the bats was determined to be identical to the virus found in the infected horses and humans.
- While there was no direct contact noted between the humans and bats, it was hypothesized that some form of close interaction between the bats and horses led to the infection of the disease.
Conclusion and Implications
- The discovery of this novel member of the Paramyxoviridae family of viruses responsible for the zoonotic disease outbreaks expands the understanding of virus circulation between species.
- The investigation shows that horses may act as a bridge in the transmission of zoonotic diseases from bats to humans.
- This finding has significant implications for public health and animal care, emphasizing the need to monitor interactions between wildlife and domestic animals.
Cite This Article
APA
Paterson DL, Murray PK, McCormack JG.
(1998).
Zoonotic disease in Australia caused by a novel member of the paramyxoviridae.
Clin Infect Dis, 27(1), 112-118.
https://doi.org/10.1086/514614 Publication
Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
Researcher Affiliations
- Infectious Disease Section, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15240, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Adult
- Animals
- Australia / epidemiology
- Chiroptera / virology
- Disease Outbreaks
- Fatal Outcome
- Horse Diseases / transmission
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Humans
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Paramyxoviridae / isolation & purification
- Paramyxoviridae Infections / diagnosis
- Paramyxoviridae Infections / epidemiology
- Paramyxoviridae Infections / transmission
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- Zoonoses / epidemiology
- Zoonoses / virology
Citations
This article has been cited 9 times.- Sack A, Oladunni FS, Gonchigoo B, Chambers TM, Gray GC. Zoonotic Diseases from Horses: A Systematic Review.. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2020 Jul;20(7):484-495.
- Voigt K, Hoffmann M, Drexler JF, Müller MA, Drosten C, Herrler G, Krüger N. Fusogenicity of the Ghana Virus (Henipavirus: Ghanaian bat henipavirus) Fusion Protein is Controlled by the Cytoplasmic Domain of the Attachment Glycoprotein.. Viruses 2019 Aug 29;11(9).
- Kumar R, Patil RD. Cryptic etiopathological conditions of equine nervous system with special emphasis on viral diseases.. Vet World 2017 Dec;10(12):1427-1438.
- Peel AJ, Field HE, Reid PA, Plowright RK, Broder CC, Skerratt LF, Hayman DT, Restif O, Taylor M, Martin G, Crameri G, Smith I, Baker M, Marsh GA, Barr J, Breed AC, Wood JL, Dhand N, Toribio JA, Cunningham AA, Fulton I, Bryden WL, Secombe C, Wang LF. The equine Hendra virus vaccine remains a highly effective preventative measure against infection in horses and humans: 'The imperative to develop a human vaccine for the Hendra virus in Australia'.. Infect Ecol Epidemiol 2016;6:31658.
- Martin G, Plowright R, Chen C, Kault D, Selleck P, Skerratt LF. Hendra virus survival does not explain spillover patterns and implicates relatively direct transmission routes from flying foxes to horses.. J Gen Virol 2015 Jun;96(Pt 6):1229-1237.
- Mancini DA, Pereira AS, Mendonça RM, Kawamoto AH, Alves RC, Pinto JR, Mori E, Richtzenhain LJ, Mancini-Filho J. Presence of respiratory viruses in equines in Brazil.. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 2014 May-Jun;56(3):191-5.
- Wurth MA, Schowalter RM, Smith EC, Moncman CL, Dutch RE, McCann RO. The actin cytoskeleton inhibits pore expansion during PIV5 fusion protein-promoted cell-cell fusion.. Virology 2010 Aug 15;404(1):117-26.
- Freiberg AN, Worthy MN, Lee B, Holbrook MR. Combined chloroquine and ribavirin treatment does not prevent death in a hamster model of Nipah and Hendra virus infection.. J Gen Virol 2010 Mar;91(Pt 3):765-72.
- Hanna JN, McBride WJ, Brookes DL, Shield J, Taylor CT, Smith IL, Craig SB, Smith GA. Hendra virus infection in a veterinarian.. Med J Aust 2006 Nov 20;185(10):562-4.
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