AI
Tuesday, September 01, 2009 10:45:22 PM
Hendra virus .. specific to Australia .. bat borne .. 4 died ..
Vet with Hendra virus dies in hospital
By Petrina Berry, AAP September 2, 2009
The Australian Veterinary Association is calling for more research
into the Hendra virus after the death of a second vet from the deadly disease.
Rockhampton vet Dr Alister Rodgers died after contracting the virus from
a sick horse on a Cawarral stud farm, which is northeast of Rockhampton.
Mr Rodgers was in intensive care at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Health Minister Paul Lucas told state parliament on Wednesday Dr Rogers died overnight.
He is the fourth person to die from the bat-borne disease.
All seven in the world to contract the virus have been in Queensland
Dr Rodgers treated a foal at J4S horse nursery in Cawarral, that
was originally believed to have died from a snake bite in July.
He leaves behind wife Linda and children, Courtney and Duncan.
Vet association president Mark Lawrie said the virus needs to be taken seriously by health and biosecurity authorities.
"We are really sad that we have lost another colleague and our
sympathies go out to Alister's family and work mates," Dr Lawrie told AAP.
"It's a problem that's not going to go away. We have to change the way we do things.
"The veterinary community is calling on the government and the public at large to
help us to deal with crises like these - emerging diseases are on the increase.
"We need to put resources and funding into researching this area.
"That's what's happening in the US and Europe. They are taking it seriously."
He said the vet community was already suffering cutbacks.
"We need funding for education and training for vets and horse owners specific to this virus," Dr Lawrie said.
Four other people who came into contact with infected horses were
discharged from the Princess Alexandra Hospital at the weekend.
Property owner John Brady, stud manager Debbie Brown and fellow workers Angela
Webber and Adrian Daniels were being monitored at the hospital as a precaution.
So far all four have tested negative but await more test results to be cleared.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5904643/vet-with-hendra-virus-dies-in-hospital/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henipavirus .. excerpts ..
Henipavirus is a genus of the family Paramyxoviridae, order Mononegavirales containing two members, Hendravirus and Nipahvirus. The henipaviruses are naturally harboured by Pteropid fruit bats (flying foxes) and are characterised by a large genome, a wide host range and their recent emergence as zoonotic pathogens capable of causing illness and death in domestic animals and humans.
Hendra virus
Emergence
Hendra virus (originally Equine morbillivirus) was discovered in September 1994 when it caused the deaths of
fourteen horses, and a trainer at a training complex in Hendra, a suburb of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.
The index case, a mare, was housed with 23 other horses after falling ill and died two days later. Subsequently, 19 of the remaining horses succumbed with 13 dying. Both the trainer and a stable hand were involved in nursing the index case and both fell ill within one week of the horse’s death with an influenza-like illness. The stable hand recovered while the trainer died of respiratory and renal failure. The source of virus was most likely frothy nasal discharge from the index case.
A second outbreak occurred in August 1994 (chronologically preceding the first outbreak) in Mackay 1000 km north of Brisbane resulting in the deaths of two horses and their owner. The owner assisted in autopsies of the horses and within three weeks was admitted to hospital suffering from meningitis. He recovered, but 14 months later developed neurologic signs and died. This outbreak was diagnosed retrospectively by the presence of Hendra virus in the brain of the patient.
A survey of wildlife in the outbreak areas was conducted and identified pteropid fruit bats as the most likely source of Hendra virus with a seroprevalence of 47%. All of the other 46 species sampled were negative. Virus isolations from the reproductive tract and urine of wild bats indicated that transmission to horses may have occurred via exposure to bat urine or birthing fluids.
Outbreaks [all in Australia .. 8 Queensland .. 1 NSW]
A total of nine outbreaks of Hendra virus have occurred since 1994, all involving infection of horses.
Four of these outbreaks have spread to humans as a result of direct contact with infected horses.
* August 1994, Mackay, Queensland: Death of two horses and one person.
* September 1994, Brisbane, Queensland: 14 horses died from
a total of 20 infected. Two people infected with one death.
* January 1999, Cairns, Queensland: Death of one horse.
* October 2004, Cairns, Queensland: Death of one horse. A vet involved in autopsy
of the horse was infected with Hendra virus and suffered a mild illness.
* December 2004, Townsville, Queensland: Death of one horse.
* June 2006, Sunshine Coast, Queensland: Death of one horse.
* October 2006, Murwillumbah, New South Wales: Death of one horse.
* July 2007, Clifton Beach, Queensland: Infection of one horse (euthanized).
* July 2008, Redlands, Brisbane, Queensland: Death of five horses; four died from the Henda virus, the remaining animal recovered but was euthanized as a health threat. Two veterinary workers from the affected property were infected leading to the death of one, veterinary surgeon Dr. Ben Cuneen, on the 20th of August, 2008. The second veterinarian was hospitalized after pricking herself with a needle she had used to euthanize the horse that had recovered. A nurse exposed to the disease while assisting Cuneen in caring for the infected horses was also hospitalized.
* July 2008, Cannonvale, Queensland: Death of two horses.
* August 2009, Cawarral, Queensland: Death of one horse; the death of three other horses is being investigated. Queensland veterinary surgeon Alister Rodgers tested positive after treating the horses.[14] On September 1, 2009 he became the fourth person to die from exposure to the virus.
The distribution of black and spectacled flying foxes covers the outbreak sites, and the timing of incidents indicates a seasonal pattern of outbreaks possibly related to the seasonality of fruit bat birthing. As there is no evidence of transmission to humans directly from bats, it is thought that human infection only occurs via an intermediate host.
Pathology
Flying foxes are unaffected by Hendra virus infection. Symptoms of Hendra virus infection of humans may be respiratory, including haemorrhage and oedema of the lungs, or encephalitic resulting in meningitis. In horses, infection usually causes pulmonary oedema and congestion.
Nipah virus
Emergence
Pteropus vampyrus (Malayan flying fox), one of the natural reservoirs of Nipah virus
Nipah virus was identified in 1999 when it caused an outbreak of neurological and respiratory disease on pig farms in peninsular Malaysia, resulting in 105 human deaths and the culling of one million pigs. In Singapore, 11 cases including one death occurred in abattoir workers exposed to pigs imported from the affected Malaysian farms. The Nipah virus has been classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a Category C agent (http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/agentlist-category.asp).
The outbreak was originally mistaken for Japanese encephalitis (JE), however, physicians in the area noted that persons who had been vaccinated against JE were not protected, and the number of cases among adults was unusual. Despite the fact that these observations were recorded in the first month of the outbreak, the Ministry of Health failed to react accordingly and instead launched a nationwide campaign to educate people on the dangers of JE and its vector, Culex mosquitoes.
Symptoms of infection from the Malaysian outbreak were primarily encephalitic in humans and respiratory in pigs. Later outbreaks have caused respiratory illness in humans, increasing the likelihood of human-to-human transmission and indicating the existence of more dangerous strains of the virus. .. continued ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henipavirus
Vet with Hendra virus dies in hospital
By Petrina Berry, AAP September 2, 2009
The Australian Veterinary Association is calling for more research
into the Hendra virus after the death of a second vet from the deadly disease.
Rockhampton vet Dr Alister Rodgers died after contracting the virus from
a sick horse on a Cawarral stud farm, which is northeast of Rockhampton.
Mr Rodgers was in intensive care at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Health Minister Paul Lucas told state parliament on Wednesday Dr Rogers died overnight.
He is the fourth person to die from the bat-borne disease.
All seven in the world to contract the virus have been in Queensland
Dr Rodgers treated a foal at J4S horse nursery in Cawarral, that
was originally believed to have died from a snake bite in July.
He leaves behind wife Linda and children, Courtney and Duncan.
Vet association president Mark Lawrie said the virus needs to be taken seriously by health and biosecurity authorities.
"We are really sad that we have lost another colleague and our
sympathies go out to Alister's family and work mates," Dr Lawrie told AAP.
"It's a problem that's not going to go away. We have to change the way we do things.
"The veterinary community is calling on the government and the public at large to
help us to deal with crises like these - emerging diseases are on the increase.
"We need to put resources and funding into researching this area.
"That's what's happening in the US and Europe. They are taking it seriously."
He said the vet community was already suffering cutbacks.
"We need funding for education and training for vets and horse owners specific to this virus," Dr Lawrie said.
Four other people who came into contact with infected horses were
discharged from the Princess Alexandra Hospital at the weekend.
Property owner John Brady, stud manager Debbie Brown and fellow workers Angela
Webber and Adrian Daniels were being monitored at the hospital as a precaution.
So far all four have tested negative but await more test results to be cleared.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5904643/vet-with-hendra-virus-dies-in-hospital/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henipavirus .. excerpts ..
Henipavirus is a genus of the family Paramyxoviridae, order Mononegavirales containing two members, Hendravirus and Nipahvirus. The henipaviruses are naturally harboured by Pteropid fruit bats (flying foxes) and are characterised by a large genome, a wide host range and their recent emergence as zoonotic pathogens capable of causing illness and death in domestic animals and humans.
Hendra virus
Emergence
Hendra virus (originally Equine morbillivirus) was discovered in September 1994 when it caused the deaths of
fourteen horses, and a trainer at a training complex in Hendra, a suburb of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.
The index case, a mare, was housed with 23 other horses after falling ill and died two days later. Subsequently, 19 of the remaining horses succumbed with 13 dying. Both the trainer and a stable hand were involved in nursing the index case and both fell ill within one week of the horse’s death with an influenza-like illness. The stable hand recovered while the trainer died of respiratory and renal failure. The source of virus was most likely frothy nasal discharge from the index case.
A second outbreak occurred in August 1994 (chronologically preceding the first outbreak) in Mackay 1000 km north of Brisbane resulting in the deaths of two horses and their owner. The owner assisted in autopsies of the horses and within three weeks was admitted to hospital suffering from meningitis. He recovered, but 14 months later developed neurologic signs and died. This outbreak was diagnosed retrospectively by the presence of Hendra virus in the brain of the patient.
A survey of wildlife in the outbreak areas was conducted and identified pteropid fruit bats as the most likely source of Hendra virus with a seroprevalence of 47%. All of the other 46 species sampled were negative. Virus isolations from the reproductive tract and urine of wild bats indicated that transmission to horses may have occurred via exposure to bat urine or birthing fluids.
Outbreaks [all in Australia .. 8 Queensland .. 1 NSW]
A total of nine outbreaks of Hendra virus have occurred since 1994, all involving infection of horses.
Four of these outbreaks have spread to humans as a result of direct contact with infected horses.
* August 1994, Mackay, Queensland: Death of two horses and one person.
* September 1994, Brisbane, Queensland: 14 horses died from
a total of 20 infected. Two people infected with one death.
* January 1999, Cairns, Queensland: Death of one horse.
* October 2004, Cairns, Queensland: Death of one horse. A vet involved in autopsy
of the horse was infected with Hendra virus and suffered a mild illness.
* December 2004, Townsville, Queensland: Death of one horse.
* June 2006, Sunshine Coast, Queensland: Death of one horse.
* October 2006, Murwillumbah, New South Wales: Death of one horse.
* July 2007, Clifton Beach, Queensland: Infection of one horse (euthanized).
* July 2008, Redlands, Brisbane, Queensland: Death of five horses; four died from the Henda virus, the remaining animal recovered but was euthanized as a health threat. Two veterinary workers from the affected property were infected leading to the death of one, veterinary surgeon Dr. Ben Cuneen, on the 20th of August, 2008. The second veterinarian was hospitalized after pricking herself with a needle she had used to euthanize the horse that had recovered. A nurse exposed to the disease while assisting Cuneen in caring for the infected horses was also hospitalized.
* July 2008, Cannonvale, Queensland: Death of two horses.
* August 2009, Cawarral, Queensland: Death of one horse; the death of three other horses is being investigated. Queensland veterinary surgeon Alister Rodgers tested positive after treating the horses.[14] On September 1, 2009 he became the fourth person to die from exposure to the virus.
The distribution of black and spectacled flying foxes covers the outbreak sites, and the timing of incidents indicates a seasonal pattern of outbreaks possibly related to the seasonality of fruit bat birthing. As there is no evidence of transmission to humans directly from bats, it is thought that human infection only occurs via an intermediate host.
Pathology
Flying foxes are unaffected by Hendra virus infection. Symptoms of Hendra virus infection of humans may be respiratory, including haemorrhage and oedema of the lungs, or encephalitic resulting in meningitis. In horses, infection usually causes pulmonary oedema and congestion.
Nipah virus
Emergence
Pteropus vampyrus (Malayan flying fox), one of the natural reservoirs of Nipah virus
Nipah virus was identified in 1999 when it caused an outbreak of neurological and respiratory disease on pig farms in peninsular Malaysia, resulting in 105 human deaths and the culling of one million pigs. In Singapore, 11 cases including one death occurred in abattoir workers exposed to pigs imported from the affected Malaysian farms. The Nipah virus has been classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a Category C agent (http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/agentlist-category.asp).
The outbreak was originally mistaken for Japanese encephalitis (JE), however, physicians in the area noted that persons who had been vaccinated against JE were not protected, and the number of cases among adults was unusual. Despite the fact that these observations were recorded in the first month of the outbreak, the Ministry of Health failed to react accordingly and instead launched a nationwide campaign to educate people on the dangers of JE and its vector, Culex mosquitoes.
Symptoms of infection from the Malaysian outbreak were primarily encephalitic in humans and respiratory in pigs. Later outbreaks have caused respiratory illness in humans, increasing the likelihood of human-to-human transmission and indicating the existence of more dangerous strains of the virus. .. continued ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henipavirus
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