What is the Difference Between Hendravirus and Nipahvirus

The key difference between Hendravirus and Nipahvirus is that Hendravirus is a member of the Paramyxoviridae family, which is highly contagious in nature, while Nipahvirus is a member of the Paramyxoviridae family, which is less contagious in nature.

Hendravirus and Nipahvirus are two viral members of the Paramyxoviridae family. They cause respiratory and nervous system diseases in animals and humans. These diseases occur through an animal reservoir known as flying foxes, a large bat that belongs to the genus Pteropus. Moreover, outbreaks of Hendravirus and Nipahvirus have only been reported in South Asia and Australia and not in the United States.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hendravirus
3. What is Nipahvirus
4. Similarities – Hendravirus and Nipahvirus
5. Hendravirus vs Nipahvirus in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Hendravirus vs Nipahvirus

What is Hendravirus?

Hendravirus is a member of the Paramyxoviridae family that causes respiratory and nervous system diseases in animals and humans. This virus is highly contagious in nature. It is a bat-borne virus. Hendravirus is associated with highly fatal and dangerous infections in horses and humans. Numerous fatal infections in horses have been reported in Australia due to this virus. Hendravirus belongs to the genus Henipavirus. Transmission of this virus is through close contact with tissues and bodily fluids of infected animals. Flying fox bats shed the virus in the urine, faeces, and saliva, which transmit to other animals through contact. The symptoms of Hendra viral infection in humans include haemorrhage, edema, and viral meningitis. The symptoms of Hendra viral infection in horses include pulmonary edema, congestion, and neurological problems.

Hendravirus infection can be diagnosed through physical examination, virus isolation, ELISA (IgG and IgM), stall side test, and PCR. Furthermore, treatment options for Hendravirus infection may include intensive support care, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines that are composed of G-glycoproteins of the Hendraviruses formulated with adjuvants for horses and humans.

What is Nipahvirus?

Nipahvirus is a member of the Paramyxoviridae family that causes respiratory and nervous system diseases in animals and humans. This virus is less contagious in nature. It is also a bat-borne virus. The transmission of infection is through flying foxes, a large bat that belongs to the genus Pteropus. The infection can be identified in humans and other animals. This virus is also transmitted through close contact with the tissues and bodily fluids of infected animals.

Numerous Nipahvirus infection outbreaks have been reported in South and Southeast Asia. The common symptoms of Nipahvirus infection include fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, loud cough, and sore throat. More serious symptoms include dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, acute encephalitis, atypical pneumonia, severe respiratory distress, and seizures. Moreover, Nipahvirus infection can be diagnosed through physical examination, RT PCR using throat and nasal swabs, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, blood, and testing for antibodies using an ELISA. Furthermore, treatment options for Nipahvirus infection include supportive care (rest and hydration), immunotherapeutic treatments (monoclonal antibodies like m102.4), and antiviral medications (remdesivir and ribavirin).

What are the Similarities Between Hendravirus and Nipahvirus?

• Hendravirus and Nipahvirus are members of the Paramyxoviridae viral family.
• They belong to the genus Henipavirus.
• Both viruses cause respiratory and nervous system diseases in animals, including humans.
• Both viruses are carried out through animal reservoirs known as flying foxes, a large bat.
• Transmission of both viruses occurs through close contact with the tissues and bodily fluids of infected animals.
• These viral outbreaks have only been reported in South Asia and Australia.
• They can be diagnosed through physical examination, ELISA, and PCR.
• Both viral infections can be treated by supportive care and monoclonal antibody therapy.

What is the Difference Between Hendravirus and Nipahvirus?

Hendravirus is a member of Paramyxoviridae family that is highly contagious in nature while Nipahvirus is a member of Paramyxoviridae family that is less contagious in nature. Thus, this is the key difference between Hendravirus and Nipahvirus. Furthermore, Hendravirus was first discovered in 1994, while Nipahvirus was first discovered in 1999.

The below infographic presents the differences between Hendravirus and Nipahvirus in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Hendravirus vs Nipahvirus

Hendravirus and Nipahvirus are two viruses identified in the 1990s. They are members of the Paramyxoviridae family that cause infections in humans and other animals. Both these viruses cause respiratory and nervous system diseases. However, Hendravirus is highly contagious in nature, while Nipahvirus is less contagious in nature. So, this is the key difference between Hendravirus and Nipahvirus.

Reference:

1. “Fact Sheets – Hendra Virus Fact Sheet.” Health News Government Australia.
2. “Nipah Virus (NIV).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Image Courtesy:

1. “CSIRO ScienceImage 1718 The Hendra Virus” By CSIRO (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Nipah virus from an infected VERO cell” By NIAID – (CC BY 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia