News in Science

New bat virus could hold key to Hendra

Chance encounter Scientists say the discovery of a new virus in bats could help in the fight against the deadly Hendra virus.

The virus was found in bat urine at Cedar Grove south of Brisbane, and has been named "Cedar".

The Cedar virus is thought to be harmless to people and others animals, but it is a close cousin of the rare and deadly Hendra virus which also has a Brisbane connection.

It first appeared in Hendra in Brisbane's north in 1994.

Since then, Hendra has infected seven people and resulted in four deaths.

There have already been six outbreaks in Queensland this year and a woman who held a sick foal last month is still being monitored for the virus.

Scientists hope comparing Cedar with its viral cousin will help them discover why Hendra is so deadly, and how they can stop it.

CSIRO virologist Gary Crameri is among a team of scientists working on the discovery.

"We put that into mice, guinea pigs and ferrets and what we found was there was no disease in any of those animals," says Crameri.

"If we'd done the same thing with Hendra we would have seen dramatic disease in those species."

Crameri says scientists can now compare the two bat-borne viruses to determine which part of Hendra causes serious disease and death.

"Cedar doesn't cause disease at all in animals in the lab, [so] if we can find genes that are different between the two viruses then potentially we can unlock what it is about Hendra that makes it so lethal," he says.

"Then we can target those particular genes for things like therapeutics."

Future treatments

Crameri says the research will help develop treatments to save people who have contracted Hendra.

"One of the problems we have at the moment is that there's nothing the medical profession can do to specifically target the viruses once they infect people," he says.

"They can use general care techniques to keep them alive but they can't target the virus at all.

"Really that's what we want to try and get a handle on - what are the things that we can do what are the therapeutics we can develop to do that?"

Dr Hume Field from Biosecurity Queensland says any new information to help fight the killer disease is welcome.

"The challenge with Hendra virus is it occurs sporadically, and the likelihood is low but the consequences are high," says Field.

"So the reality is that every tool that we've got to counter the potential impact of Hendra is worthwhile."

The CSIRO has already been developing a Hendra vaccine for horses and that is due to be ready next year.

Researchers say it will provide an invaluable level of protection against the virus, but human treatments are still years away.

"It's a very much a light bulb moment from the point of view of we're on to something here - two viruses that are to all intents and purposes similar except for one major difference," says Field.

"But it's going to take time before any application from that comes forward."