HWN Suggests

Hendra virus rarely spills from animals to us. Climate change makes it a bigger threat

Whilst having the capacity to kill humans and horses yet another organism, the fruit bat, is thought to be the reservoir of infection. The viral infection is largely asymptomatic in the bats but results in the shedding of enormous amounts of virus in the bat urine and faeces which can be inhaled or ingested by horses resulting in infections. Horses can infect each other, probably through saliva, and the path to humans probably involves inhalation of aerosolised saliva from the horse. Transmission directly from bat to human has not yet been documented and it is unknown if this in fact even possible.

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 Hendra virus: how prepared are horse owners and vets to tackle emerging zoonoses?

Curious to know how prepared horse owners and vets would be in this region in the case of a spillover event, in fourth year I began a project to survey the awareness of Hendra in Perth (Western Australia).

Articles of Interest

Anti-Vaxxers Are Targeting a Vaccine for a Virus Deadlier Than Ebola

The vaccine for Hendra, a virus that can spread from horses to humans, has pitted owners against vets—revealing that science alone can't prevent the next global pandemic.

Developing the world's first Hendra vaccine

The Equivac® HeV is a world-first commercial vaccine for a Bio-Safety Level-4 disease agent. This vaccine enables commercial and private equine activities to continue with minimal negative impact by increasing personal safety for horse owners, vets and others regularly interacting with horses. It also enhances security for the Australian horse industry and reduces time spent in quarantine.

Hendra Virus

Hendra virus, and the related Nipah virus, have now both been observed in livestock throughout North Eastern Australia and South East Asia which is a big problem as when this zoonotic virus makes the jump into humans it can be deadly. In Australia the biggest concern is for horses.

Hendra virus fact sheet

Hendra virus is a virus that mainly infects large fruit bats (flying foxes) which can be passed on to horses. The infection has occasionally been passed onto people who have been in close contact with an infected horse.

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

Hendra virus, a member of the family Paramyxoviridae, was first recognized following a devastating outbreak in Queensland, Australia, in 1994. The naturally acquired symptomatic infection, characterized by a rapidly progressive illness involving the respiratory system and/or CNS, has so far only been recognized in horses and humans. However, there is potential for other species to be infected, with significant consequences for animal and human health

The Hendra vaccine has no effect on racehorse performance

On November 1, 2012 the Hendra virus (HeV) EquiVac vaccine for horses was made available under a special “minor or emergency use” permit due to the urgent need for its release following the large number of outbreaks in 2011. In May 2015 the vaccine was fully registered. There is no vaccine available for people, but Queensland Health has conducted a successful early phase clinical trial of monoclonal antibody treatment for people exposed to Hendra virus.

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Vet Voice

The vaccine is only available to veterinarians. The reasoning behind this is based on the fact that because Hendra is such a lethal disease, the vaccine needs, therefore, to be handled, stored and administered by veterinary professionals, to ensure adherence to correct administration protocols in order to protect animal and human health, in line with the best international standards for preventive medical care.

Zoetis

The Hendra virus is a deadly disease found exclusively in Australia that is transmitted from flying fox to horse, horse to horse, and horse to people. The Hendra virus was first discovered in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra in 1994. The virus occurs naturally in flying fox populations across most Australian states and territories, with the potential for the disease to appear wherever there are flying fox colonies.

Antimicrobe

All humans confirmed with HeV infections had contact with Hendra virus infected horses. The absence of human cases among healthcare workers and among family members suggests that Hendra virus is not easily transmissible from person-to-person. However, all of the confirmed human cases became infected following high level exposures to respiratory secretions and/or blood of Hendra virus infected horses...

CDC

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. It is related to Nipah virus, another species in the genus Henipavirus. The natural reservoir for Hendra virus has since been identified as the flying fox (bats of the genus Pteropus).

WHO

Hendra virus (HeV) infection is a rare emerging zoonosis (disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals) that causes severe and often fatal disease in both infected horses and humans. The natural host of the virus has been identified as being fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus. HeV was identified during the first recorded outbreak of the disease in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, Australia, in 1994.