Nipah Virus

**Semantic type:** Virus

**Definition:** A species of enveloped and pleomorphic viruses in the Paramyxoviridae family and Henipavirus genus. The genome is composed of non-segmented, negative-sense, single-stranded RNA. Nipah viruses are found naturally in Pteropid fruit bats, and are zoonotic pathogens in domestic animals (mainly in pigs) and humans. Nipah viruses cause respiratory diseases, relapse and fatal encephalitis in humans.

**Synonyms:** - NIPAH VIRUS - NiV