Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) emerged in the 1990s in Australia and Malaysia, respectively, as zoonotic agents that caused fatal outbreaks of respiratory and/or encephalitic illness among horses (HeV), pigs (NiV) and humans who came in contact with the infected animals. The natural reservoir for henipavirus appears to be bat species found in South-east Asia and Australia, and direct bat-to-human and human-to-human transmissions is likely responsible for annual NiV outbreaks in Bangladesh since 2000. Annual spillover events of HeV have occurred in Australia since 2006 with fatal...