Minsk virus Is a newly recognised molest. virus. The virus was discover. in 1009. It caused dims= in with and in huans. through .ntact with infectious animals. TM virus is a member of the virus family Paron,aviridne. Although member of this group of viruses have only caused v few focal utbra.s. the biologic p.n., or viruses to infeet wi. range of hosts and to produce a disease causing significant mortality in humans has made this sense. viral infcclioo a puhlic health concern.. The World Heal. Organisation has confirmed two recent human outbreaks of .e deadly Nip. virus hare occurred in Bangladesh. This virus had previously only been confirmed in Malaysia whore a 19. outbreak killed 40% of those infeced. WHO said that in February 21104, an outbreak of ibis virus spread across six Bangladesh i. and caused 17 human deaths in 23 eases - a monality ram of 7.4. A second outbreak in the Faridpur district earlier this month killed 18 of 30 eases - a 60, mortality nate' Fruit bats of Yteropiff specie were identified as the natural reservoir hosts.' A retrospative investigation of two mares. of entephalitis in bleberpur and Asopen. Bangladesu which marred .2001 and 2003, collected serum samples from persons who were ilk .sir household contacts. randomly selected residents, hospital workers, and various animals were classified as laboratory confirmed or probable. Among them 13 cases were identified (4 confirmed. 9 probable) in Meherpur; 7 were in persons in two households. Patients were more likely than nonpaticnts to have close contact with other patients or have contact with a sick cow. In Naogaon. there were identified 12 cases (4 confirmed. 8 probable); 7 were in persons clustered in too households . Two pteropus bats had antibodies for nipah virus. Samples from hospital workers were negative for nipah rims antibodies. These outbreaks, the first since 1999, suggest that transmission may occur through close contact with other patients or front exposure to a common source.