ABSTRACT
This chapter is about the infections of the central nervous system (CNS). It says that common pathological themes unite paramyxovirus infections and many of the viruses are capable of spreading to the CNS where acute encephalitis and reactivation following long-term persistence are prominent clinical features. This chapter discusses Zoonotic infections by hitherto unrecognized animal viruses are typically associated with higher levels of pathogenicity than is observed following infection with viruses which only circulate in a single species as co-evolution of the virus and host tends to diminish pathogenicity over time. It says that the 40-75% mortality rates observed in Nipah Virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV) infections are in striking contrast to the 0.01-0.03% mortality rates observed for Mumps Virus (MuV) and Measles Virus (MV). Given the similarities in virion structure, genome organization, replication, transcription, and how paramyxovirus proteins generally function within the cell, it says that it is logical to address the biological aspects for MV, MuV, NiV, and HeV together.
