What type of virus is the Hendra virus?
Hendra virus (HeV) is a member of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus. HeV was first isolated in 1994 from specimens obtained during an outbreak of respiratory and neurologic disease in horses and humans in Hendra, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia.
How are human viruses classified?
Viruses are classified by phenotypic characteristics, such as morphology, nucleic acid type, mode of replication, host organisms, and the type of disease they cause.
How are animal virus classified?
Animal viruses can be classified by the nature of the nucleic genome (ie, DNA or RNA). In addition, viruses are often called by their morphological features. For instance, according to the existence of envelope, it can be called either an enveloped virus or naked (nonenveloped virus).
What is the structure of Nipah virus?
The Nipah virus phosphoprotein (P) is multimeric and tethers the viral polymerase to the nucleocapsid. We present the crystal structure of the multimerization domain of Nipah virus P: a long, parallel, tetrameric, coiled coil with a small, α-helical cap structure.
Why is it called Hendra virus?
The virus was named Hendra virus after the Brisbane suburb where it first occurred. In 1995, a Mackay farmer and horse breeder was the second recorded death and in 2008, a vet became the third person to die after catching the infection from horses in Queensland.
What is the horse virus called?
EHV is a common DNA virus that occurs in horse populations worldwide. The two most common species are EHV-1, which causes abortion, respiratory disease and neurologic disease; and EHV-4, which usually causes respiratory disease only but can occasionally cause abortion and rarely neurological disease.
Which are the 2 main criteria used in classifying viruses?
Characteristics used to classify viruses The main criteria were the type of nucleic acid – DNA or RNA.
Can humans be vaccinated for Hendra?
Hendra virus is a rare disease – the very few reported cases in Australia were in people who had close contact with infected horses. There is no cure, specific treatment or human vaccine for Hendra virus. The best defence against Hendra virus is to avoid contact with an infected horse.