Scientists Find New Bat Viruses in China, Linked to Deadly Hendra and Nipah Viruses

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Jun 27, 2025 - 09:58 Updated: Jun 26, 2025 - 17:16
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Scientists Find New Bat Viruses in China, Linked to Deadly Hendra and Nipah Viruses

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Researchers from China and Australia have found 20 novel viruses in bats from southwest China, including two henipaviruses that are related to the deadly Hendra and Nipah viruses, according to a study published on Tuesday.

The 22 viruses—including 20 novel viruses—were found after researchers examined the kidneys of 142 bats collected between 2017 and 2021 from five cities or counties in China’s southwestern Yunnan Province. Researchers also found two “highly abundant” bacterial species, including a newly discovered species, the study said.

“In this study, we report the first detection of two novel henipavirus genomes from bat kidneys in China, one of which is the closest known relative of pathogenic henipaviruses identified to date,” the study reads.

The new henipavirus viruses are closely related to the Nipah virus (NiV), which can cause respiratory distress and brain inflammation in humans; and to the Hendra virus (HeV), which has led to a number of deadly outbreaks in humans and horses, the study said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the mortality rate from an NiV infection is between 40 and 75 percent, and there’s “no licensed treatments” available.
The CDC said HeV infections in humans have been rare, with only seven cases reported.

It said the antiviral drug ribavirin has been shown to work against NiV and HeV in lab experiments, but it’s unclear how effective the drug is for treating humans.

Authors warned of potential transmission of the new henipaviruses to humans or livestock because they were found in bats that lived in an orchard near villages.

According to the authors, bats could potentially pass the viruses on to humans by contaminating fruits with their urine.

Of all 22 viruses found, nine were estimated to be able to infect mammals. Authors noted that the mammal-associated viruses found in the bat kidneys—an organ little examined previously—were different from those found in the rectal tissue of the same bat.

The authors said that the finding highlighted the need to examine different organs in bats, and that “future research should incorporate both kidney and urine sampling to comprehensively evaluate pathogen shedding and the associated transmission risk.”

The study, published in journal PLOS Pathogens, was conducted by Chinese researchers from the Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, an affiliate of state-owned Yunnan Institute of Endemic Disease Control and Prevention; and the National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, an affiliate of the Chinese Center for Disease and Prevention; Fudan University, and Sun Yat-sen University; and two scientists from Australia’s University of Sydney.
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