Meier Kristina, Olejnik Judith, Hume Adam J, Mühlberger Elke
Department of Virology, Immunology and Microbiology, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA 02218, USA.
Pathogens. 2024 Jul 16;13(7):587. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13070587.
Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies have led to the discovery of a plethora of previously unknown viruses in animal samples. Some of these newly detected viruses are closely related to human pathogens. A prime example are the henipaviruses. Both Nipah (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV) cause severe disease in humans. Henipaviruses are of zoonotic origin, and animal hosts, including intermediate hosts, play a critical role in viral transmission to humans. The natural reservoir hosts of NiV and HeV seem to be restricted to a few fruit bat species of the genus in distinct geographic areas. However, the recent discovery of novel henipa- and henipa-like viruses suggests that these viruses are far more widespread than was originally thought. To date, these new viruses have been found in a wide range of animal hosts, including bats, shrews, and rodents in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. Since these viruses are closely related to human pathogens, it is important to learn whether they pose a threat to human health. In this article, we summarize what is known about the newly discovered henipaviruses, highlight differences to NiV and HeV, and discuss their pathogenic potential.
高通量测序技术的最新进展促使人们在动物样本中发现了大量此前未知的病毒。其中一些新检测到的病毒与人类病原体密切相关。亨尼帕病毒就是一个典型例子。尼帕病毒（NiV）和亨德拉病毒（HeV）都会在人类中引发严重疾病。亨尼帕病毒源自人畜共患病，包括中间宿主在内的动物宿主在病毒传播给人类的过程中起着关键作用。NiV和HeV的天然宿主似乎局限于不同地理区域内该属的少数几种果蝠。然而，最近发现的新型亨尼帕病毒和类亨尼帕病毒表明，这些病毒的分布范围远比最初认为的要广。迄今为止，这些新病毒已在包括亚洲、非洲、欧洲和南美洲的蝙蝠、鼩鼱和啮齿动物在内的多种动物宿主中被发现。由于这些病毒与人类病原体密切相关，了解它们是否对人类健康构成威胁至关重要。在本文中，我们总结了关于新发现的亨尼帕病毒的已知信息，强调了它们与NiV和HeV的差异，并讨论了它们的致病潜力。
