Hendra Virus Infection in Dog, Australia, 2013.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kirkland PD
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4672422 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:To determine the epidemiologic and clinical features of a 2008 outbreak of Hendra virus infection in a veterinary clinic in Australia, we investigated the equine case-series. Four of 5 infected horses died, as did 1 of 2 infected staff members. Clinical manifestation in horses was predominantly neurologic. Preclinical transmission appears likely.
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Project description:Hendra virus (HeV) causes highly lethal disease in horses and humans in the eastern Australian states of Queensland (QLD) and New South Wales (NSW), with multiple equine cases now reported on an annual basis. Infection and excretion dynamics in pteropid bats (flying-foxes), the recognised natural reservoir, are incompletely understood. We sought to identify key spatial and temporal factors associated with excretion in flying-foxes over a 2300 km latitudinal gradient from northern QLD to southern NSW which encompassed all known equine case locations. The aim was to strengthen knowledge of Hendra virus ecology in flying-foxes to improve spillover risk prediction and exposure risk mitigation strategies, and thus better protect horses and humans. Monthly pooled urine samples were collected from under roosting flying-foxes over a three-year period and screened for HeV RNA by quantitative RT-PCR. A generalised linear model was employed to investigate spatiotemporal associations with HeV detection in 13,968 samples from 27 roosts. There was a non-linear relationship between mean HeV excretion prevalence and five latitudinal regions, with excretion moderate in northern and central QLD, highest in southern QLD/northern NSW, moderate in central NSW, and negligible in southern NSW. Highest HeV positivity occurred where black or spectacled flying-foxes were present; nil or very low positivity rates occurred in exclusive grey-headed flying-fox roosts. Similarly, little red flying-foxes are evidently not a significant source of virus, as their periodic extreme increase in numbers at some roosts was not associated with any concurrent increase in HeV detection. There was a consistent, strong winter seasonality to excretion in the southern QLD/northern NSW and central NSW regions. This new information allows risk management strategies to be refined and targeted, mindful of the potential for spatial risk profiles to shift over time with changes in flying-fox species distribution.
| S-EPMC4666458 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A recent Hendra virus outbreak at a veterinary clinic in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, involved 5 equine and 2 human infections. In contrast to previous outbreaks, infected horses had predominantly encephalitic, rather than respiratory, signs. After an incubation period of 9-16 days, influenza-like illnesses developed in the 2 persons before progressing to encephalitis; 1 died. Both patients were given ribavirin. Basal serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels were 10-13 mg/L after intravenous administration and 6 mg/L after oral administration (isolate 90% inhibitory concentration 64 mg/L). Both patients were exposed to infected horses, 1 during the late incubation period in a horse. The attack rate for veterinary clinic staff exposed to infected horses was 10%. An isolate from this outbreak showed genetic heterogeneity with isolates from a concurrent, but geographically remote, outbreak and from previous outbreaks. Emergence of Hendra virus is a serious medical, veterinary, and public health challenge.
| S-EPMC2957996 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Pteropid bats (flying-foxes) are the natural reservoir of Hendra virus, an emergent paramyxovirus responsible for fatal infection in horses and humans in Australia. Pteropus alecto (the Black flying-fox) and the paraphyletic P. conspicillatus (the Spectacled flying-fox) appear to be the primary reservoir hosts. Previous studies have suggested that physiological and ecological factors may underpin infection dynamics in flying-foxes, and subsequent spillover to horses and in turn humans. We sought to examine temporal trends in urinary cortisol concentration in wild Australian flying-fox populations, to elucidate the putative relationship between Hendra virus infection and physiological stress. Pooled and individual urine samples were non-invasively collected from under roosting flying-foxes at two latitudinally disparate regions in the eastern Australian state of Queensland. Hendra virus detection, and (in individual urine samples) sex and species determination were PCR-based. Urinary cortisol measurement used a validated enzyme immunoassay. We found no direct correlation between increased urinary cortisol and Hendra virus excretion, but our findings do suggest a biologically plausible association between low winter temperatures and elevated cortisol levels in P. alecto in the lower latitude Southeast Queensland roosts. We hypothesize an indirect association between low winter temperatures and increased Hendra virus infection and excretion, mediated by the physiological cost of thermoregulation. Our findings and our approach are directly relevant to elaboration of the disease ecology of Nipah virus and other emerging henipaviruses in bats. More broadly, they inform investigation of emerging disease infection dynamics across the wildlife/livestock/human interface.
| S-EPMC5540484 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We identified and isolated a novel Hendra virus (HeV) variant not detected by routine testing from a horse in Queensland, Australia, that died from acute illness with signs consistent with HeV infection. Using whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, we determined the variant had ≈83% nt identity with prototypic HeV. In silico and in vitro comparisons of the receptor-binding protein with prototypic HeV support that the human monoclonal antibody m102.4 used for postexposure prophylaxis and current equine vaccine will be effective against this variant. An updated quantitative PCR developed for routine surveillance resulted in subsequent case detection. Genetic sequence consistency with virus detected in grey-headed flying foxes suggests the variant circulates at least among this species. Studies are needed to determine infection kinetics, pathogenicity, reservoir-species associations, viral-host coevolution, and spillover dynamics for this virus. Surveillance and biosecurity practices should be updated to acknowledge HeV spillover risk across all regions frequented by flying foxes.
| S-EPMC8888208 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks.
| S-EPMC3294518 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hendra virus is a recently emerged zoonotic agent in Australia. Since first described in 1994, the virus has spilled from its wildlife reservoir (pteropid fruit bats, or 'flying foxes') on multiple occasions causing equine and human fatalities. We undertook a three-year longitudinal study to detect virus in the urine of free-living flying foxes (a putative route of excretion) to investigate Hendra virus infection dynamics. Pooled urine samples collected off plastic sheets placed beneath roosting flying foxes were screened for Hendra virus genome by quantitative RT-PCR, using a set of primers and probe derived from the matrix protein gene. A total of 1672 pooled urine samples from 67 sampling events was collected and tested between 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2011, with 25% of sampling events and 2.5% of urine samples yielding detections. The proportion of positive samples was statistically associated with year and location. The findings indicate that Hendra virus excretion occurs periodically rather than continuously, and in geographically disparate flying fox populations in the state of Queensland. The lack of any detection in the Northern Territory suggests prevalence may vary across the range of flying foxes in Australia. Finally, our findings suggest that flying foxes can excrete virus at any time of year, and that the apparent seasonal clustering of Hendra virus incidents in horses and associated humans (70% have occurred June to October) reflects factors other than the presence of virus. Identification of these factors will strengthen risk minimization strategies for horses and ultimately humans.
| S-EPMC3235146 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hendra virus (HeV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen, which causes severe respiratory illness and encephalitis in humans and horses. Since its first appearance in 1994, spillovers of HeV from its natural reservoir fruit bats occur on almost an annual basis. The high mortality rate in both humans and horses and the wide-ranging reservoir distribution are making HeV a serious public health problem, especially for people exposed to sick horses. This study has aimed to develop an efficient low-cost HeV vaccine for horses based on Canarypox recombinant vector expressing HeV glycoproteins, attachment glycoprotein (G) and fusion protein (F). This vaccine was used to immunise hamsters and then challenged intraperitoneally with HeV 3 weeks later. The higher tested dose of the vaccine efficiently prevented oropharyngeal virus shedding and protected animals from clinical disease and virus-induced mortality. Vaccine induced generation of seroneutralising antibodies and prevented virus-induced histopathological changes and a production of viral RNA and antigens in animal tissues. Interestingly, some vaccinated animals, including those immunised at a lower dose, were protected in the absence of detectable specific antibodies, suggesting the induction of an efficient virus-specific cellular immunity. Finally, ponies immunised using the same vaccination protocol as hamsters developed strong seroneutralising titres against both HeV and closely related Nipah virus, indicating that this vaccine may have the ability to induce cross-protection against Henipavirus infection. These data suggest that Canarypox-based vectors encoding for HeV glycoproteins present very promising new vaccine candidate to prevent infection and shedding of the highly lethal HeV.
| S-EPMC5707888 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hendra virus (HeV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen harbored by Australian mainland flying foxes. HeV infection can cause lethal disease in humans and horses, and to date all cases of human HeV disease have resulted from contact with infected horses. Currently, diagnosis of acute HeV infections in horses relies on the productive phase of infection when virus shedding may occur. An assay that identifies infected horses during the preclinical phase of infection would reduce the risk of zoonotic viral transmission during management of HeV outbreaks. Having previously shown that the host microRNA (miR)-146a is upregulated in the blood of HeV-infected horses days prior to the detection of viremia, we have profiled miRNAs at the transcriptome-wide level to comprehensively assess differences between infected and uninfected horses. Next-generation sequencing and the miRDeep2 algorithm identified 742 mature miRNA transcripts corresponding to 593 miRNAs in whole blood of six horses (three HeV-infected, three uninfected). Thirty seven miRNAs were differentially expressed in infected horses, two of which were validated by qRT-PCR. This study describes a methodology for the transcriptome-wide profiling of miRNAs in whole blood and supports the notion that measuring host miRNA expression levels may aid infectious disease diagnosis in the future.
| S-EPMC5547158 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hendra virus (HeV) is a lethal zoonotic agent that emerged in 1994 in Australia. Pteropid bats (flying-foxes) are the natural reservoir. To date, HeV has spilled over from flying-foxes to horses on 51 known occasions, and from infected horses to close-contact humans on seven occasions. We undertook screening of archived bat tissues for HeV by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Tissues were tested from 310 bats including 295 Pteropodiformes and 15 Vespertilioniformes. HeV was detected in 20 individual flying-foxes (6.4%) from various tissues including spleen, kidney, liver, lung, placenta and blood components. Detection was significantly higher in Pteropus Alecto and P. conspicillatus, identifying species as a risk factor for infection. Further, our findings indicate that HeV has a predilection for the spleen, suggesting this organ plays an important role in HeV infection. The lack of detections in the foetal tissues of HeV-positive females suggests that vertical transmission is not a regular mode of transmission in naturally infected flying-foxes, and that placental and foetal tissues are not a major source of infection for horses. A better understanding of HeV tissue tropism will strengthen management of the risk of spillover from flying-foxes to horses and ultimately humans.
| S-EPMC4465494 | biostudies-other