Vertical transmission of Nipah virus in an experimentally infected nonhuman primate; a brief report and description of histopathological lesions

Abstract

Nipah virus (NiV) is a highly pathogenic henipavirus which causes severe, often fatal disease in humans and animals. African green monkeys (AGM) have been used extensively to investigate NiV disease and are the only nonhuman primate (NHP) model that accurately recapitulates human NiV pathogenesis. Here, we describe histopathological lesions in the reproductive tissues of an incidentally pregnant female AGM that succumbed to NiV disease. We employed multiplex immunohistochemistry techniques to profile specific cell populations which identified NiV antigen in both maternal and fetal cells of the placenta, which has not been previously described in NHP models of NiV disease.