Hendra virus
Virus Hendra
- Date
- septiembre de 1994 · confidence high
- Place
- Hendra, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Credited to
- Queensland Veterinary Laboratory and CSIRO teams
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
An outbreak at a horse stable in Hendra, on the outskirts of Brisbane, killed fourteen horses and one person, and infected another, through a new paramyxovirus. Its natural reservoir was later found to be flying foxes (fruit bats).
The outbreak occurred in 1994; the virus was identified within weeks and flying foxes were identified as the reservoir in 1996. It was first called equine morbillivirus.
What it led to
- knowledge of henipaviruses and their relation to Nipah virus
- a veterinary vaccine for horses from 2012
- studies of emerging zoonoses with bat reservoirs