Nipah virus (NiV)

Nipah virus (NiV) is a highly pathogenic zoonotic virus belonging to the Henipavirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family (WHO, 2024). It is the causative agent of Nipah virus infection, which manifests as severe encephalitis and acute respiratory illness in humans, carrying a high case fatality rate between 40% and 75% (CDC, 2023). The virus targets host cells by using its attachment glycoprotein (G) to bind to Ephrin-B2 and Ephrin-B3 receptors, followed by membrane fusion mediated by the fusion (F) protein (UniProt, 2024). Once the viral genome is released into the cytoplasm, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (L) complex initiates transcription and replication of the negative-sense RNA genome. Therapeutic interventions currently under investigation include the nucleoside analogue remdesivir, which inhibits the viral polymerase, and the monoclonal antibody m102.4, which neutralizes the G protein to block entry (Geisbert et al., 2014; Lo et al., 2017). Despite these experimental efforts, there are no currently approved vaccines or specific therapeutics for human use, making management primarily supportive.

Other names

NiVHenipavirus nipahNipah henipavirus

Inhibition of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and neutralization of viral attachment glycoproteins.