Nipah Virus

Human Nipah virus infection characteristically causes a severe encephalitis. ∼75% of infected persons die. Nipah virus is a zoonotic infection. It's wildlife reservoir are bats of the genus Pteropus, but because the virus attaches to the ephrin B2 receptor, which is widely distributed on mammalian epithelial cells, the virus can infect a wide range of hosts. Human outbreaks have occurred in Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Philippines. Nipah infection can be acquired by consumption of bat contaminated food and from the passage of contaminated saliva from a sick animal or person to a susceptible one.