The virus is a member of a new genus of viruses related to the mysterious Hendra virus, which infected horses and killed two people in Australia in 1994.
The scientists discovered that the virus uses a protein key to the development of embyos to get into the cells it infects, according to the scientists.
"In its natural state, the Nipah virus can be used as a potential bioterrorism agent capable of devastating an entire country's public health and economy," said Dr. Benhur Lee of the University of California Los Angeles, who led one of the teams.
"Now that we understand how the virus operates, we can develop vaccines and drugs to block Nipah from entering the cells. This will help prevent infection and halt outbreaks before they reach epidemic proportions."
Dr. Lee's team said they found how the virus infects cells. It attaches to a cell receptor, a kind of chemical doorway, called Ephrin-B2.
Working independently, Christopher Broder of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland and colleagues found the same thing.
They report their findings in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
