Abstract
A previously unknown virus was named Nipah after the area where it was identified. Nipah virus is part of the family of viruses called Paramyxoviridae; but researchers have found many characteristics in common to another virus, Hendra, and give them their own genus: Henipavirus. Nipah virus (NiV) has a negative single stranded RNA. The virion is helical and enveloped with specific surface projections. In 1999 in Malaysia, most people infected (90%) by NiV were involved in pig farming or pork production activities (Rodriguez JJ 2002). The disease was highly contagious and one million pigs were destroyed. Nowadays, although person-to-person transmission has not been reported, the outbreaks cause concern. Among victims, all were in close contact with infected animals. Therefore, it cannot be ruled that infected people passed Nipah virus to other people.
