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    Scientists Discover First Henipavirus in North America, Raising Pandemic Fears

    By The University of Queensland34 Comments2 Mins Read
    Dark Virus Illustration
    Researchers have confirmed the presence of the Camp Hill virus, a type of henipavirus, in northern short-tailed shrews in Alabama. Henipaviruses, such as Hendra and Nipah, are known to cause severe illness and high fatality rates in humans and animals. The discovery of this virus in North America suggests a wider global distribution than previously thought.

    Scientists have identified the Camp Hill virus, a henipavirus, in shrews in Alabama, marking its first detection in North America.

    Researchers at the University of Queensland have discovered the first henipavirus detected in North America.

    Dr. Rhys Parry from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences confirmed the presence of Camp Hill virus in shrews in Alabama, USA.

    “Henipaviruses have caused serious disease and death in people and animals in other regions,” Dr Parry said

    “One of the most dangerous is the Hendra virus, which was first detected in Brisbane, Australia, and has a fatality rate of 70 percent.

    “Another example is Nipah virus which has recorded fatality rates between 40 and 75 per cent in outbreaks in Southeast Asia, including in Malaysia and Bangladesh.

    “The discovery of a henipavirus in North America is highly significant, as it suggests these viruses may be more globally distributed than previously thought.”

    Discovery in Northern Short-Tailed Shrews

    Camp Hill virus was found in northern short-tailed shrews, a small mammal with wide distribution across Canada and the US.

    Dr Parry said more research was needed to understand if it was a threat to people.

    “The closest known henipavirus to Camp Hill virus that has caused disease in humans is Langya virus, which crossed from shrews to humans in China,” Dr Parry said.

    “This indicates that shrew-to-human transmission can occur.”

    Co-author Dr Ariel Isaacs said developing vaccines for the virus family was a focus for UQ researchers.

    “The next step for this work is to characterize key surface proteins on the virus that are involved in cell entry to broaden our understanding of the virus family and identify better ways to protect against it,” Dr Isaacs said.

    Reference: “Henipavirus in Northern Short-Tailed Shrew, Alabama, USA” by Rhys H. Parry, KayLene Y.H. Yamada, Wendy R. Hood, Yang Zhao, Jinlong Y. Lu, Andrei Seluanov, Vera Gorbunova, Naphak Modhiran, Daniel Watterson and Ariel Isaacs, February 2025, Emerging Infectious Diseases.
    DOI: 10.3201/eid3102.241155

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    34 Comments

    2. Daniel Turner on

      Why are you lying to people this is not a pandemic. I just went to CDC website and no infections have ever been reported in the US

      Reply
    4. Tom on

      Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! Virus this, virus that. The sky is falling! Hello HENNY PENNEY! Blah, blah, blah blah blah blah! The world will go on.

      Reply
    7. Robert on

      “In a Room Full of Liars, what is your Truth?”
      But also, the publication world has now taken full, out-of-control advantage – it would seem…
      plus anyone scrapping virus from varmints in some back-water is also selling things to the weapons people.

      Reply
    10. RealityObserver on

      So far as I’ve heard, Australia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh haven’t lost 70% of their populations.

      So not very transmittable. (Until the Communists in Red China get hold of it, that is. At least WE aren’t funding them any more, so it may be a while.)

      Reply
    11. mick on

      I would request that all readers/commenters take 7 deep breaths and then carefully observe what the story says, and then rely on factual past experiences of human systems that have had public health emergencies. This Camp Hill virus is one of several in a group that have morphological relationships. Past outbreaks of several of these have been monitored and studied and created research inquiries. Any virus that can kill more than 15 percent of a potentially affected population is cause for concern, observation and public information. This story does not state the size of the impacted populations of past infections, nor does it say why/how these viruses were made contagious – how they were spread from subject to subject. Humans have, for some time, interacted with numerous small mammals, as pets, curiosities, experimental subjects, etc. This habit, along with just normal interactions among/between related species of shrews must create cautious concern for humans. Denial is a symptom of fear. Information is a symptom of concern. Information on past experience with flu viruses and other viruses is not reactionary, it is responsible communication if some potential public health threat is possible. If some of you do not believe it, then why would you comment on this article? Millions have died from viruses, and a great many more have become/remained ill as well. No one who is responsible will change the mind of a skeptic, and few try. If this info is of no interest to you, why not just pass on it and go on with your life. To attack someone or some health agency/research for doing their job is useless and inefficient. I do not like contagious and virulent dangers to my health, so this story is of interest to me. Let me decide what I want to know. I will not attempt to tell you what is important to you. Reality will show the end product of both behaviors.

      Reply
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