Social history of viruses of encephalitis, of which 105 were fatal, were recorded. A new paramyxovirus was discovered in a victim's brain; it was named Nipah virus, after the village where he had lived. The infection was caused by a virus from fruit bats, after their colony had been disrupted by deforestation. The bats had moved to trees nearer the pig farm and the pigs caught the virus from their droppings. Several highly lethal viral pathogens are members of the "Filoviridae". Filoviruses are filament-like viruses that cause viral haemorrhagic fever, and include the Ebola and Marburg viruses. The Marburg virus attracted widespread press attention
Ross River virus showed that patients who had suffered "epidemic polyarthritis" in Queensland had antibodies to the virus. The new virus was named Ross River virus, and the disease Ross River fever. The virus itself was first isolated in 1972 using suckling mice. It was found that RRV isolated from human serum could kill mice. However, the serum containing the virus that was used had come from an Aboriginal boy from Edward River, North Queensland. The child had a fever and a rash but no arthritis making the link between RRV and Ross River fever less than concrete. The largest ever outbreak of