[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Microbiology](https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/) › [Other viruses and prions](https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/groups/other-viruses-and-prions/) › Hendra and Nipah viruses

# Hendra and Nipah viruses

- Virus
- Enveloped

## Contact?

Gown and gloves; dedicated equipment. For C. difficile, soap-and-water hand washing.

## Droplet?

Surgical mask within about a metre; single room.

- For completeness

Bat viruses from Asia and Australia that pass to people through pigs, horses or food. They cause severe encephalitis or pneumonia that is often fatal.

Updated Nov 13, 2026

Also called: henipaviruses, NiV, HeV

## Quick facts

**Type**
Virus · [Other viruses and prions](https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/groups/other-viruses-and-prions/)

**Gram / shape**
Pleomorphic

**Spread**
Fruit bats · Nipah · Nipah

**Causes**
Acute encephalitis from Nipah

**Treatment**
There is no proven specific treatment

On this page

- The basics Key points
- At a glance
- Morphology
- Transmission
- Memory aid
- What the colours mean

- Clinical Virulence factors
- Diseases it causes
- Clinical picture
- Diagnosis

- Treatment Treatment
- Prevention

- Study Test yourself

- Connections Connections

## Key points

- Paramyxoviruses carried by Pteropus fruit bats
- Nipah: pigs (Malaysia) or date palm sap (Bangladesh, India); person-to-person spread
- Hendra: bats to horses to people in Australia
- Encephalitis from vasculitis; case fatality often above 40%
- WHO priority pathogens with no approved vaccine or treatment

## At a glance

**Shape**
Pleomorphic, with a helical nucleocapsid

**Genome**
Single-stranded, negative-sense RNA, non-segmented

**Envelope**
Enveloped

**Family**
Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus

**Size**
About 40 to 600 nm (pleomorphic)

## Morphology

- Envelope with an attachment glycoprotein (G) that binds ephrin-B2 and B3 and a fusion protein (F)
- Ephrin-B2 is present on endothelium and neurons, which explains vasculitis and brain involvement
- Related to measles and mumps viruses (same family)

## Transmission

- Fruit bats (Pteropus, flying foxes) shed virus in urine, saliva and droppings
- Nipah, Malaysia 1998 to 1999: from pigs to pig farmers
- Nipah, Bangladesh and India: raw date palm sap contaminated by bats, then person to person among family members and in hospitals
- Hendra, Australia: bats to horses, then horses to people through blood, secretions or birthing material; no person-to-person spread documented
- Nursing care for Nipah: standard, contact and droplet precautions

**Reservoir:** Pteropus fruit bats (flying foxes)

**Vector:** No vector; spread by direct contact with bats, amplifying animals (pigs, horses), contaminated food or patients

### Isolation precautions

What the care team adds to standard precautions.

**Contact**
Gown and gloves; dedicated equipment. For C. difficile, soap-and-water hand washing.

**Droplet**
Surgical mask within about a metre; single room.

## Virulence factors

- Systemic vasculitis of small vessels with thrombosis and micro-infarcts, especially in the brain
- Direct infection of neurons causes encephalitis
- Nipah can stay latent and cause relapsing or late-onset encephalitis months to years later
- Infection of respiratory epithelium explains cough, pneumonia and person-to-person spread of Nipah

## Diseases it causes

- Acute encephalitis from Nipah or Hendra virus [Viral encephalitis (herpes simplex encephalitis) →](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/viral-encephalitis/)
- Severe respiratory illness and pneumonia (Nipah, Hendra)
- Relapsing or late-onset Nipah encephalitis

## Clinical picture

- Nipah incubation 3 to 14 days (rarely up to 45): fever, headache, myalgia, vomiting, then drowsiness, confusion, seizures and coma
- Cough and breathing difficulty, often prominent in Bangladesh and India outbreaks
- Case fatality 40 to 75% for Nipah; about 57% of the few Hendra cases died
- About 1 in 5 survivors keep long-term neurological problems

## Diagnosis

- RT-PCR on throat or nasal swabs, CSF, blood or urine early in illness
- IgM and IgG ELISA later in illness
- Samples are handled in maximum-containment laboratories
- Brain MRI may show multiple small lesions in white matter

## Treatment

There is no proven specific treatment; early intensive supportive care (airway, ventilation, seizure control, fluids) improves survival. Monoclonal antibodies and antivirals are under study in trials.

Drug class only; doses and regimens are set by the clinician from the current guideline.

## Prevention

- Do not drink raw date palm sap; cover sap collection pots and boil fresh juice
- Wash and peel fruit; discard fruit with bite marks
- Gloves and protective clothing when handling sick pigs or horses, at slaughter and in culls
- Infection control in hospitals; a vaccine for horses (Hendra) exists in Australia; no human vaccine yet

## Memory aid

"Nipah: Need palm sap? No!" Raw date palm sap and pigs bring Nipah; "Hendra rides a horse" in Australia.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What is the natural reservoir of Nipah and Hendra viruses?

Pteropus fruit bats (flying foxes).

## How did Nipah reach people in Bangladesh outbreaks?

Through raw date palm sap contaminated by bats, followed by person-to-person spread.

## Which animal passes Hendra virus to humans?

Horses, infected by flying foxes in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia.

[Add to my cards (3)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/microbiology/hendra-and-nipah-viruses/)

## What the colours mean

**Gram-positive**
Thick peptidoglycan wall: stains purple.

**Gram-negative**
Thin wall with an outer membrane: stains pink.

**Acid-fast**
Lipid-rich wall (mycobacteria): Ziehl–Neelsen stain.

**Contact**
Gown and gloves; dedicated equipment. For C. difficile, soap-and-water hand washing.

**Droplet**
Surgical mask within about a metre; single room.

**Airborne**
N95 respirator and a negative-pressure room.

## Connections

## Related 3

- [Measles virus](https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/measles-virus/)
- [Mumps virus](https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/mumps-virus/)
- [Rabies virus](https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/rabies-virus/)

## Related conditions 1

- [Viral encephalitis (herpes simplex encephalitis)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/viral-encephalitis/)

[← Back to the group: Other viruses and prions](https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/groups/other-viruses-and-prions/)

Educational content on microorganisms; not a treatment guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. No doses are given.

Sources: [Nipah virus](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nipah-virus) (World Health Organization (WHO), 2026); [About Hendra Disease](https://www.cdc.gov/hendra-virus/about/index.html) (CDC, 2024).

## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake

Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/hendra-and-nipah-viruses/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/microbiology/hendra-and-nipah-viruses/