Nipah viruses binding to human cells, illustration

Illustration of Nipah viruses binding to receptors on human cells, an initial stage of Nipah infection. Nipah virus is zoonotic (transmitted to humans from animals) and was first found in Malaysia and Singapore in people who had close contact with pigs. It was initially isolated in 1999 upon examining samples from an outbreak of encephalitis and respiratory illness among adult men in those two countries.