Hendra virus infection is a rare emerging zoonotic disease caused by Hendra henipavirus that can be transmitted from animals to humans and produces severe illness in both horses and people [1][3]. The natural reservoir is fruit bats of the genus Pteropus in Australia, with horses acting as intermediate hosts [1][3].
Disease overview
Evidence-backed information EN 5/7 applicable sections · ZH 5/7 applicable sections Updated Oct 23, 2026
Hendra virus infection is a rare emerging zoonosis causing severe and frequently fatal disease in horses and humans, first identified in suburban Brisbane in 1994 [1]. Spillover from Australian flying foxes to horses has produced sporadic outbreaks largely confined to the north-eastern coast of Australia, with occasional onward transmission to people [1][2][3]. A horse vaccine is available and is considered effective for lowering both equine infection and human exposure risk [1][2].
Read the full clinical and epidemiological profile 6
In humans, illness ranges from mild influenza-like disease to fatal respiratory or neurological manifestations, including pulmonary hemorrhage and edema or viral meningitis [1][3]. Infected horses typically develop pulmonary edema, congestion, and neurological signs [3]. Human case fatality is approximately 60% and equine case fatality about 75% [3].
The first recognized outbreak in 1994 involved 21 stabled racehorses and two human cases in Hendra, Brisbane [1]. As of mid-2016, 53 incidents affecting over 70 horses and seven human infections had been reported, all restricted to the north-eastern Australian coast [1]. By June 2014, around 50 outbreaks had occurred in horses with more than 100 equine deaths, and an unprecedented cluster of outbreaks in 2011 raised public concern [2][3]. A Hendra virus genotype 2 variant was identified in flying foxes and at least two horses in 2021 [3].
Horses acquire infection through contact with flying-fox bodily fluids such as urine, feces, or saliva-contaminated masticated fruit beneath roosting sites [3]. Occasional onward transmission to humans occurs via close contact with ill or dead horses, particularly during care or necropsy [1][2]. The reservoir host is Australian Pteropus bats, which shed virus in urine, feces, and saliva without apparent illness [3].
A registered inactivated subunit vaccine for horses is available and is recognized as an effective measure to reduce equine infection and consequently lower the likelihood of human exposure [1][2]. Preventing acute Hendra disease in horses through vaccination is the principal commercially available strategy against this Biosafety Level 4 pathogen [2]. No specific human therapeutics exist, so avoidance of close contact with infected horses remains important [1].
- 1 World Health Organization. Hendra virus infection [Internet]. cited 23 Oct 2026. Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/hendra-virus-infection
- 2 Middleton D et al. Hendra virus. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2014 Dec. PMID: 25281398. doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2014.08.004. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25281398/
- 3 Wikipedia contributors. Hendra virus - Wikipedia [Internet]. Wikipedia. cited 4 Sept 2026. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendra_virus
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