ABSTRACT
Paramyxoviruses are a diverse group of enveloped viruses that infect vertebrates, primarily mammals and birds, but also rodents and reptiles. The family Paramyxoviridae is divided into two subfamilies, the Paramyxovirinae and Pneumovirinae, the member species of which can be distinguished based on ultrastructure, genome organization, sequence relatedness of the encoded proteins, antigenic cross-reactivity, and biological properties of the attachment proteins (presence or absence of hemagglutinating and neuraminidase activities) [6,7]. Pneumovirinae contains
two genera, Pneumovirus and Metapneumovirus, whereas Paramyxovirinae is divided into ve genera: Rubulavirus, Avulavirus, Respirovirus, Henipavirus, and Morbillivirus, the type species of which are mumps, Newcastle disease, Sendai, Hendra, and measles viruses, respectively.
