Nipah Virus

INTRODUCTION

Electron micrograph of the Ebola Zaire virus. This was the first photo ever taken of the virus, on 10/13/1976. By Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, then at the CDC.

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Legend/credit: Electron micrograph of the Ebola Zaire virus. This was the first photo ever taken of the virus, on 10/13/1976. By Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, then at the CDC.
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FUN FACT

The Nipah virus was the virus which inspired the MEV-1 virus in the 2011 Hollywood hit “Contagion”.

MORPHOLOGY OF NiV

Nipah virus is in the newly created Henipavirus genus with the closely related Hendra virus and Cedar virus. The Henipavirus family is pleomorphic, meaning their shape is varied, and traditionally 40 to 600 nm in diameter. The core of a virion contains a linear ribonucleprotein (RNP) comprising of negative sense single stranded RNA. Also present in the RNP are three critically important proteins. Nucelocapsid proteins (N) are tighly bound to the various nucleotides of the RNA strand. N protein is the most abundant protein present and necessary for capsid structure. Phosphoproteins (P) and large polymerase proteins (L) are also bound to the RNA and aid RNA polymerase in transcribing RNA to mRNA to antigenomic RNA. The virion is enveloped by a traditional lipid bilayer but “spiked” with fusion (F) and receptor-binding glycoproteins (G). The fusion proteins are responsible for fusing the viral membrane to the host membrane triggering the release of the contents of the virion. The receptor-binding glycoporteins are extremely specific and bind only to Ephrin B2 (EFNB2) surface proteins. Specifically, NiV has been found to alternatively bind to EFB3 as well. The EFNB2 surface proteins are highly conserved across the mammalian lineage. On the underside of the lipid bilayer matrix proteins (M) are present for structural support and regulating the budding process. Other proteins, C, V, and W, are also present in the cytoplasm and involved in regulation of transcription and replication. In regards to the Nipah virus genome, the exact structure is not completely understood. However because of the strong homology between Hendra virus and Nipah virus, a nearly identical structure is hypothesized. The negative sense single stranded RNA is of traditional 3’ to 5’ orientation. All the previously mentioned proteins are encoded by the RNA in the order of 3’-N-P-M-F-G-L- 5’. Similar to all paramyxoviruses NiV RNA replication occurs in the cyptoplasm. All but the P gene are monocystronic, in that they code for a single protein. The P gene also encoded for the C, V, and W proteins which play a role in the virulence of NiV. Interferons are released by host cells when under attack by a pathogen which enables intercellular communication. The intercellular communication is necessary for the triggering of immune cells which get rid of the pathogen. C, V, and W proteins, encoded by the P gene, have anti-interferon activity in that they block the transcription of interferon signaling. The process by which C, V, and W proteins block the signaling is still unknown.

NiV OUTBREAK HISTORY

The initial outbreak of encephalitis, later discovered to be a result of NiV, and first epicenter occurred in September of 1998 in several pig farms in a small town called Ipoh in northern Malaysia. NiV is thought to have been transmitted through southern Malaysia by the transference of infected pigs to a second epicenter located around Kampung Sungai Nipah. By more transport of infected pigs, as well as human-human transmission, NiV quickly spread into Singapore. This outbreak resulted in 276 infected patients with 106 deaths, a fatality rate of 38%. The main transmission of this outbreak is thought to be from the reservoir host to an intermediate host, to humans. This outbreak also resulted in a huge death rate of the pig population in Malaysia and Singapore. Since the outbreak in 1998, a dozen outbreaks have since occurred in Bangladesh and India starting in 2001. These outbreaks have resulted in more respiratory disease and a fatality rate of up to 92% which have lead scientists to suspect a different strand of Nipah virus as the culprit. The transmission is thought to be directly from the reservoir host to humans, along with a higher human to human transmission rate. The most recent outbreak occurred in early February of 2013, resulting in 12 infections and 10 deaths. Overall in Bangladesh, there have now been 188 infections with 146 deaths with a fatality rate of 77%.

OVERVIEW OF NiV TRANSMISSION

CONCLUSION: THE FUTURE OF NiV

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References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.

Edited by student of Joan Slonczewski for BIOL 238 Microbiology, 2009, Kenyon College.