Hendra virus: a one health tale of flying foxes, horses and humans

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briony Hazelton ◽  
Fatma Ba Alawi ◽  
Jen Kok ◽  
Dominic E Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
One Health ◽  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Flying Foxes

scholarly journals A New Hendra Virus Genotype Found in Australian Flying Foxes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianning Wang ◽  
Danielle E Anderson ◽  
Kim Halpin ◽  
Xiao Hong ◽  
Honglei Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Inflammatory Lesion ◽  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Virus Genotype ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Qrt Pcr ◽  
Genotype 2 ◽  
Pcr Assays ◽  
Flying Fox

Abstract Background Hendra virus (HeV) has caused lethal disease outbreaks in humans and horses in Australia. Pteropid bats (flying foxes) are the wildlife reservoir from which the virus was first isolated in 1996. Following a heat stress mortality event in Australian flying foxes in 2013, a novel HeV variant was discovered. This study describes the subsequent surveillance of Australian flying foxes for this novel virus over a nine year period using qRT-PCR testing of bat tissues submitted primarily for Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) diagnosis. Genome sequencing and characterisation of the novel HeV variant was also undertaken. Methods Spleen and kidney samples harvested from flying fox carcasses were initially screened with two real-time qRT-PCR assays specific for the prototype HeV. Two additional qRT-PCR assays were developed specific for the HeV variant first detected in samples from a flying fox in 2013. Next-generation sequencing and virus isolation was attempted from selected samples to further characterise the new virus. Results Since 2013, 98 flying foxes were tested and 11 were positive for the new HeV variant. No samples were positive for the original HeV. Ten of the positive samples were from grey-headed flying foxes (GHFF, Pteropus poliocephalus), however this species was over-represented in the opportunistic sampling (83% of bats tested were GHFF). The positive GHFF samples were collected from Victoria and South Australia and one positive Little red flying fox (LRFF, Pteropus scapulatus) was collected from Western Australia. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) confirmed the presence of henipavirus antigen, associated with an inflammatory lesion in cardiac blood vessels of one GHFF. Positive samples were sequenced and the complete genome was obtained from three samples. When compared to published HeV genomes, there was 84% sequence identity at the nucleotide level. Based on phylogenetic analyses, the newly detected HeV belongs to the HeV species but occupies a distinct lineage. We have therefore designated this virus HeV genotype 2 (HeV-G2). Attempts to isolate virus from PCR positive samples have not been successful. Conclusions A novel HeV genotype (HeV-G2) has been identified in two flying fox species submitted from three states in Australia, indicating that the level of genetic diversity for HeV is broader than first recognised. Given its high genetic relatedness to HeV, HeV-G2 should be considered a zoonotic pathogen.

scholarly journals Physiological stress and Hendra virus in flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.), Australia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. e0182171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee McMichael ◽  
Daniel Edson ◽  
Craig Smith ◽  
David Mayer ◽  
Ina Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Flying Foxes

scholarly journals Climatic suitability influences species specific abundance patterns of Australian flying foxes and risk of Hendra virus spillover

One Health ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 115-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo A. Martin ◽  
Carlos Yanez-Arenas ◽  
Billie J. Roberts ◽  
Carla Chen ◽  
Raina K. Plowright ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Climatic Suitability ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Abundance Patterns ◽  
Species Specific

scholarly journals The Concept of One Health - a holistic approach

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Julia Landford
Keyword(s):  
One Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Human Ecosystem ◽  
Global Movement

‘One Health’ is a global movement of practitioners and policy-makers to support a better understanding of the ecology of diseases at the animal–human–ecosystem interface. Globally, diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1 HPAI) have resulted in significant human fatalities, animal deaths and multi-billion dollar impacts. Several recent disease events in Australia also highlight the complexity of these issues including outbreaks of Hendra virus in Queensland and northern New South Wales resulting in four human fatalities and dozens of horse deaths. At a broader level, Australia faces ongoing challenges with infectious diseases such as air-borne influenza, antibiotic resistant diseases and food-borne disease outbreaks which have regular impacts on public health. The complexity surrounding transmission of diseases at the animal–human–ecosystem interface highlights the need for multidisciplinary approaches – known as One Health approaches. While there has been some progress with advocacy of One Health in Australia, stronger political will is needed to break down sectoral and disciplinary silos and to enable more effective measures at the operational level.

scholarly journals Hendra virus survival does not explain spillover patterns and implicates relatively direct transmission routes from flying foxes to horses

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 1229-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Martin ◽  
Raina Plowright ◽  
Carla Chen ◽  
David Kault ◽  
Paul Selleck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Direct Transmission ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Virus Survival

scholarly journals Urban habituation, ecological connectivity and epidemic dampening: the emergence of Hendra virus from flying foxes ( Pteropus spp.)

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1725) ◽  
pp. 3703-3712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raina K. Plowright ◽  
Patrick Foley ◽  
Hume E. Field ◽  
Andy P. Dobson ◽  
Janet E. Foley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Pattern ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Domestic Animal ◽  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Anthropogenic Transformation ◽  
Population Immunity ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Flying Fox

Anthropogenic environmental change is often implicated in the emergence of new zoonoses from wildlife; however, there is little mechanistic understanding of these causal links. Here, we examine the transmission dynamics of an emerging zoonotic paramyxovirus, Hendra virus (HeV), in its endemic host, Australian Pteropus bats (fruit bats or flying foxes). HeV is a biosecurity level 4 (BSL-4) pathogen, with a high case-fatality rate in humans and horses. With models parametrized from field and laboratory data, we explore a set of probable contributory mechanisms that explain the spatial and temporal pattern of HeV emergence; including urban habituation and decreased migration—two widely observed changes in flying fox ecology that result from anthropogenic transformation of bat habitat in Australia. Urban habituation increases the number of flying foxes in contact with human and domestic animal populations, and our models suggest that, in addition, decreased bat migratory behaviour could lead to a decline in population immunity, giving rise to more intense outbreaks after local viral reintroduction. Ten of the 14 known HeV outbreaks occurred near urbanized or sedentary flying fox populations, supporting these predictions. We also demonstrate that by incorporating waning maternal immunity into our models, the peak modelled prevalence coincides with the peak annual spill-over hazard for HeV. These results provide the first detailed mechanistic framework for understanding the sporadic temporal pattern of HeV emergence, and of the urban/peri-urban distribution of HeV outbreaks in horses and people.

scholarly journals Evidence of Endemic Hendra Virus Infection in Flying-Foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus)—Implications for Disease Risk Management

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. e28816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Breed ◽  
Martin F. Breed ◽  
Joanne Meers ◽  
Hume E. Field
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Virus Infection ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Flying Foxes

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Aspects of Hendra Virus Infection in Pteropid Bats (Flying-Foxes) in Eastern Australia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e0144055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hume Field ◽  
David Jordan ◽  
Daniel Edson ◽  
Stephen Morris ◽  
Debra Melville ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virus Infection ◽  
Hendra Virus ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Eastern Australia
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