Abstract
Until the Nipah outbreak in Malaysia in 1999, knowledge of human infections with the henipaviruses was limited to the small number of cases associated with the emergence of Hendra virus in Australia in 1994. The Nipah outbreak in Malaysia alerted the global public health community to the severe pathogenic potential and widespread distribution of these unique paramyxoviruses. This chapter briefly describes the initial discovery of Nipah virus and the challenges encountered during the initial identification and characterisation of the aetiological agent responsible for the outbreak of febrile encephalitis. The initial attempts to isolate Nipah virus from the bat reservoir host are also described.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anonymous (1999) JE claimed more adult victims than children, say don. The Star, February 25, Nation 10
Cardosa MJ, Hooi TP, Kaur P (1995) Japanese encephalitis virus is an important cause of encephalitis among children in Penang. Southeast Asia J Trop Med Public Health 26:272–275
CDC (1999) Outbreak of Hendra-like virus—Malaysia and Singapore, 1998–1999. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep (MMWR) 48:265–269
Chua KB (2003a) Outbreak of Nipah virus in Malaysia. J Clin Virol 26:265–275
Chua KB (2003b) A novel approach of collecting samples from fruit bats for isolation of infectious agents. Microbes Infect 5:487–490
Chua KB (2004) The discovery of Nipah virus: a person account. Neurol Asia 9:59–63
Chua KB (2010) Epidemiology, surveillance and control of Nipah virus infections in Malaysia. Malaysian J Pathol 32(2):69–73
Chua KB, Goh KJ, Wong KT, Kamarulzaman A, Tan PSK, Ksiazek TG, Paul G, Lam SK, Tan CT (1999) Fatal encephalitis due to a new paramyxovirus among pig-farmers in Malaysia. Lancet 354:1257–1259
Chua KB, Bellini WJ, Rota PA, Harcourt BH, Lam SK, Ksiazek TG, Rollin P, Zaki SR, Goldsmith CS, Roehig JT, Eaton B, Gould AR, Olson J, Field H, Daniel P, Ling AE, Anderson LJ, Mahy BW (2000) Nipah virus: a newly emergent deadly paramyxovirus. Science 288:1432–1435
Chua KB, Wang LF, Lam SK, Crameri G, Yu M, Wise T, Boyle D, Hyatt AD, Eaton BT (2001) Tioman virus, a novel paramyxovirus isolated from fruit bats in Malaysia. Virology 283(2):215–229
Chua KB, Koh CL, Hooi PS, Wee KF, Khong JH, Chua BH, Chan YP, Lim ME, Lam SK (2002a) Isolation of Nipah virus from Malaysian island flying-foxes. Microbes Infect 4:145–151
Chua KB, Chua BH, Wang CW (2002b) Anthopogenic deforestation, El Nino and the emergence of Nipah virus in Malaysia. Malays J Pathol 24:15–21
Chua PKB, Corkill JE, Hooi PS, Cheng SC, Winstanley C, Hart CA (2005) Isolation of Waddlia malaysiensis, a novel intracellular bacterium, from fruit bat (Eonycteris spelaea). Emerg Infect Dis 11:271–277
Chua KB, Wong EMH, Cropp BC, Hyatt AD (2007) Role of electron microscopy in Nipah virus outbreak investigation and control. Med J Malaysia 62:139–142
Ksiazek TG, Rota PA, Rollin PE (2011) A review of Nipah and Hendra viruses with an historical aside. Virus Res 162(1–2):173–183
Ministry of Health Malaysia (2001) Cabinet report: JE/Nipah outbreak in Malaysia, vol 1, pp 1–133
Mohd Nor MN, Gan CH, Ong BL (2000) Nipah virus infection of pigs in peninsular Malaysia. Rev Sci Tech Off Int Epiz 19(1):160–165
Mohd Yob J, Field HE, Rashdi AM, Morrissy C, van der Heide B, Rota P, Adzhar A, White J, Daniels P, Jamaluddin A, Ksiazek TG (2001) Nipah virus infection in bats (order chiroptera) in peninsular Malaysia. Emerg Infect Dis 7:439–441
Paton NI, Leo YS, Zaki SR, Auchus AP, Lee KE, Ling AE, Chew SK, Ang B, Rollin PE, Umapathi T, Sng I, Lee CC, Lim E, Ksiazek TG (1999) Outbreak of Nipah virus infection among abattoir workers in Singapore. Lancet 354:1253–1257
Pritchard LI, Chua KB, Cummins D, Hyatt A, Crameri G, Eaton BT, Wang LF (2006) Pulau virus: a new member of the genus orthoreovirus isolated from fruit bats in Malaysia. Arch Virol 151:229–239
Vaugh DW, Hoke CH (1992) The epidemiology of Japanese encephalitis: prospect for prevention. Epidemiol Rev 14:197–221
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chua, K.B. (2012). Introduction: Nipah Virus—Discovery and Origin. In: Lee, B., Rota, P. (eds) Henipavirus. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 359. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/82_2012_218
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/82_2012_218
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-29818-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-29819-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)