bulletman
Queensland, Austalia has a virus that has killed a few horses over the last few weeks, it is localised in a specific area, it is called the Hendra Virus, have you had or heard of this deadly virus in any other country, i'v e never heard of it before.
3 Answers
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catgirl15
So far this disease has been limited to Australia, although it could spread if infected horses are exported to other countries. Only 3 human cases have occured. Two of these people had a flu-like respiratory illness, and two of the three people died. It's contracted when humans handle the fluids of an infected horse. This virus, which originated in Hendra, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia, was first discovered in 1994.
| 13 years ago. Rating: 1 | |
heavie
Hendra virus disease is caused by the Hendra virus which was first called equine morbillivirus because it was first isolated from horses during a then-unexplainable outbreak in 1994. It is a very rare but very fatal disease.
History
In 1994, a respiratory disease which affected both the horses and their handlers caused 15 horses – and 2 people who had been in close contact with them – in separate places to die. It was thought that the disease was caused by morbillivuris. However, the first strains were isolated from affected specimen from Hendra, Australia. The strain was later classified under the Paramyxoviridae family.
Around 10 outbreaks were recorded for areas which were geographically far from each other. Thus, even if the virus isolated from each area proved to be the same, the connection between these occurrences was difficult to establish. An extensive screening of various animals revealed that flying fox (bats) species were natural hosts to the virus. However, transmission of this virus to the humans in close contact was not established, and it was impossible for the horses to have been exposed to the bats.
Symptoms
Hendra virus disease is rare but is extremely fatal in humans or horses. Of the three human cases recorded, two showed extreme flu-like symptoms accompanied by encephalitis which caused fever, drowsiness – and later – coma, breathing difficulties and death.
Transfer
The virus is transferred to humans from fluid secretions and tissues of the infected horses
Read more: http://www.righthealth.com/topic/hendra_virus_disease#ixzz1SN13bYdV
| 13 years ago. Rating: 0 | |
