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
SMS Hessen "Hessen" was tasked with clearing paths for merchant vessels in the iced-over Baltic. She also made visits to the ports of Libau, Latvia, and Reval, Estonia, during this period. The ship joined the pre-dreadnought , the flagship of "VAdm" Konrad Mommsen, for a trip to Spain that lasted from 12 May to 19 June. During the cruise, "Hessen" visited the Canary Islands and Cape Verde in the central Atlantic. In July, "Hessen" and the torpedo boat "T190" visited Neufahrwasser; they were the first German warships to visit Danzig since Germany lost control of the city to Poland after the war.