Human Hendra Virus Encephalitis Associated with Equine Outbreak, Australia, 2008

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Playford, Elliott G. ; McCall, Brad ; Smith, Greg ; Slinko, Vicki ; Allen, George ; Smith, Ina ; Moore, Frederick ; Taylor, Carmel ; Kung, Yu-Hsin ; Field, Hume
• Description:
  A recent Hendra virus outbreak at a veterinary clinic in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, involved 5 equine and 2 human infections. In contrast to previous outbreaks, infected horses had predominantly encephalitic, rather than respiratory, signs. After an incubation period of 9-16 days, influenza-like illnesses developed in the 2 persons before progressing to encephalitis; 1 died. Both patients were given ribavirin. Basal serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels were 10-13 mg/L after intravenous administration and 6 mg/L after oral administration (isolate 90% inhibitory concentration 64 mg/L). Both patients were exposed to infected horses, 1 during the late incubation period in a horse. The attack rate for veterinary clinic staff exposed to infected horses was 10%. An isolate from this outbreak showed genetic heterogeneity with isolates from a concurrent, but geographically remote, outbreak and from previous outbreaks. Emergence of Hendra virus is a serious medical, veterinary, and public health challenge.
• Subjects:
  Adult Animals Contact Tracing Disease Outbreaks Encephalitis Fatal Outcome Female Hendra Virus Henipavirus Infections Horse Diseases Horses Humans Male Young Adult

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• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 16(2):219-223.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Queensland, Australia
• Volume:
  16
• Issue:
  2
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:c942a20b56be532d1c9e5aac3a6c17ec91d69f9b72cc4ec2d3f02958c8434638
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/17917/cdc_17917_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 133.39 KB ]