Here you’ll find 47 Viruses that start with H that begin with H, organized from “H1N1 influenza A virus (subtype)” to “Human rhinovirus”. They include pandemic influenza strains, everyday cold viruses, and species used in research and vaccine development.
Viruses that start with H are viruses whose standard names begin with the letter H. Notable examples include the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain and human rhinoviruses that commonly cause colds.
Below you’ll find the table with Name, Classification, Affects humans?, Symptoms, Transmission, and Notes.
Name: Official or common virus name so you can identify each entry quickly.
Classification: Family, genus, and species (ICTV) so you see taxonomic placement and research context.
Affects humans?: Yes or No with a short qualifier (for example, zoonotic or opportunistic), so you know human relevance.
Symptoms: Typical clinical features in a few words to help you link pathogen and presentation.
Transmission: Main transmission routes stated briefly so you understand how infections spread.
Notes: Short context such as notable outbreaks, prevention, or key references for further detail.
Viruses that start with H
| Name | Classification | Affects humans? | Transmission | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIV | Retroviridae / Lentivirus / Human immunodeficiency virus 1 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Blood-borne; sexual contact; vertical | Causes progressive immune suppression (AIDS); symptoms include fever, weight loss, opportunistic infections; major global public-health impact. |
| Hepatitis A virus | Picornaviridae / Hepatovirus / Hepatovirus A | Yes — primary human pathogen | Fecal–oral | Acute viral hepatitis causing jaundice, fever, abdominal pain, fatigue; usually self-limited; vaccine-preventable; common in areas with poor sanitation. |
| Hepatitis B virus | Hepadnaviridae / Orthohepadnavirus / Hepatitis B virus | Yes — primary human pathogen | Blood-borne; sexual contact; vertical | Causes acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma; symptoms include jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain; vaccine-preventable. |
| Hepatitis C virus | Flaviviridae / Hepacivirus / Hepacivirus C | Yes — primary human pathogen | Blood-borne; vertical (less common) | Often causes chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis; acute symptoms may include jaundice, fatigue; treatable with direct-acting antivirals. |
| Hepatitis D virus (Delta) | Kolmioviridae / Deltavirus / Hepatitis delta virus | Yes — requires HBV coinfection (opportunistic) | Blood-borne; sexual contact; vertical | Satellite virus requiring HBV; can cause severe hepatitis and fulminant disease in coinfected individuals. |
| Hepatitis E virus | Hepeviridae / Orthohepevirus / Paslahepevirus balayani | Yes — zoonotic and human pathogen | Fecal–oral; zoonotic (undercooked meat) | Causes acute hepatitis; symptoms include jaundice, nausea, malaise; high risk of severe disease in pregnant people. |
| Hantaan virus | Hantaviridae / Orthohantavirus / Hantaan orthohantavirus | Yes — zoonotic rodent-borne | Aerosolized rodent excreta; inhalation | Causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome: fever, hemorrhage, renal failure; rodent reservoir in Asia; serious clinical illness. |
| Hendra virus | Paramyxoviridae / Henipavirus / Hendra henipavirus | No — primarily equine with zoonotic spillover | Respiratory; direct contact with infected horses | Zoonotic from horses causing severe respiratory and neurological disease in humans; high fatality; rare but high-concern. |
| Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) | Herpesviridae / Simplexvirus / Human alphaherpesvirus 1 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Direct contact; saliva; sexual contact (oral) | Causes oral cold sores, gingivostomatitis; can cause encephalitis or neonatal disease; lifelong latency in nerves. |
| Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) | Herpesviridae / Simplexvirus / Human alphaherpesvirus 2 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Sexual contact; vertical | Causes genital herpes: recurrent painful lesions, possible neonatal infection; establishes lifelong latency. |
| Human herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3) | Herpesviridae / Varicellovirus / Human alphaherpesvirus 3 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; direct contact; vertical | Varicella (chickenpox) and zoster (shingles); fever, vesicular rash, neuropathic pain in reactivation. |
| Human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4, EBV) | Herpesviridae / Lymphocryptovirus / Human gammaherpesvirus 4 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Saliva (oral) | Epstein–Barr virus: infectious mononucleosis (fever, sore throat, lymphadenopathy); linked to certain cancers and lymphoproliferative diseases. |
| Human herpesvirus 5 (HHV-5, CMV) | Herpesviridae / Cytomegalovirus / Human betaherpesvirus 5 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Saliva, urine, sexual contact, vertical | Cytomegalovirus: often asymptomatic; can cause mononucleosis-like illness and severe congenital or immunocompromised disease. |
| Human herpesvirus 6A | Herpesviridae / Roseolovirus / Human betaherpesvirus 6A | Yes — primary human pathogen (less defined) | Saliva; presumed respiratory | Associated with roseola-like illness and possible neurological disease; high seroprevalence; latent infection common. |
| Human herpesvirus 6B | Herpesviridae / Roseolovirus / Human betaherpesvirus 6B | Yes — primary human pathogen | Saliva; presumed respiratory | Major cause of roseola infantum (high fever, rash); establishes lifelong latency. |
| Human herpesvirus 7 | Herpesviridae / Roseolovirus / Human betaherpesvirus 7 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Saliva; respiratory | Often asymptomatic; associated with childhood rash/fever illnesses and febrile seizures occasionally. |
| Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) | Herpesviridae / Rhadinovirus / Human gammaherpesvirus 8 | Yes — human pathogen (oncogenic) | Sexual contact; saliva; transplant-related | Kaposi sarcoma-associated virus; linked to Kaposi sarcoma and some lymphomas, especially in immunosuppressed people. |
| Human papillomavirus (HPV) | Papillomaviridae / Multiple genera / species vary (species unassigned) | Yes — primary human pathogen (many genotypes) | Skin-to-skin; sexual contact; vertical | Causes warts, cervical and other cancers (HPV16/18); often asymptomatic; vaccine-preventable types. |
| Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) | Pneumoviridae / Metapneumovirus / Human metapneumovirus | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Causes bronchiolitis, pneumonia, cold-like illness; symptoms include cough, fever, wheeze, especially in children and elderly. |
| Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1) | Retroviridae / Deltaretrovirus / Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 | Yes — human pathogen (oncogenic) | Blood-borne; sexual contact; vertical | Associated with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and myelopathy; many infections asymptomatic for years. |
| Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 (HTLV-2) | Retroviridae / Deltaretrovirus / Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 | Yes — human pathogen (less oncogenic) | Blood-borne; sexual contact; vertical | Associated with rare neurologic disease; many infected remain asymptomatic. |
| Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) | Pneumoviridae / Orthopneumovirus / Human orthopneumovirus | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants and elderly; symptoms include cough, wheeze, fever; major pediatric burden. |
| Human adenovirus | Adenoviridae / Mastadenovirus / species vary | Yes — primary human pathogen (many types) | Respiratory droplets; fecal–oral; contact | Causes respiratory illness, conjunctivitis, gastroenteritis depending on type; common in children and congregate settings. |
| Human rhinovirus | Picornaviridae / Enterovirus / Human rhinovirus A/B/C (species vary) | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Leading cause of the common cold: sneezing, sore throat, runny nose; many serotypes, frequent reinfection. |
| Human coronavirus 229E | Coronaviridae / Alphacoronavirus / Human coronavirus 229E | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Causes mild to moderate respiratory illness (common cold); symptoms: cough, sore throat, fever. |
| Human coronavirus OC43 | Coronaviridae / Betacoronavirus / Human coronavirus OC43 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Often causes common-cold symptoms; occasionally lower respiratory disease in vulnerable people. |
| Human coronavirus NL63 | Coronaviridae / Alphacoronavirus / Human coronavirus NL63 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Associated with upper respiratory illness and croup in children; symptoms: cough, fever, wheeze. |
| Human coronavirus HKU1 | Coronaviridae / Betacoronavirus / Human coronavirus HKU1 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Causes mild to moderate respiratory symptoms; can cause pneumonia in older or immunocompromised people. |
| Human coronavirus SARS-CoV | Coronaviridae / Betacoronavirus / Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus | Yes — primary human pathogen (epidemic) | Respiratory droplets; close contact | Causes SARS: high fever, cough, severe pneumonia; notable 2002–2003 outbreak with significant mortality. |
| Human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 | Coronaviridae / Betacoronavirus / Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 | Yes — primary human pathogen (pandemic) | Respiratory droplets; aerosols; contact | Causes COVID-19: fever, cough, fatigue, loss of smell; wide clinical spectrum from mild to fatal; major global impact. |
| Human parvovirus B19 | Parvoviridae / Erythroparvovirus / Primate erythroparvovirus 1 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; blood-borne; vertical | Causes erythema infectiosum (“fifth disease”), transient aplastic crisis, fetal hydrops in pregnancy. |
| Human polyomavirus 2 (JC virus) | Polyomaviridae / Betapolyomavirus / Human polyomavirus 2 | Yes — primary human pathogen (usually latent) | Respiratory; urine; likely early-life transmission | Often asymptomatic; can cause progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in immunocompromised people. |
| Human polyomavirus 1 (BK virus) | Polyomaviridae / Betapolyomavirus / Human polyomavirus 1 | Yes — primary human pathogen (latent) | Urine; close contact | Typically asymptomatic; can cause nephropathy and graft dysfunction in transplant recipients. |
| Human enterovirus A71 (EV‑A71) | Picornaviridae / Enterovirus / Enterovirus A | Yes — primary human pathogen | Fecal–oral; respiratory droplets | Causes hand-foot-and-mouth disease and severe neurologic disease (aseptic meningitis, encephalitis) in children. |
| Human enterovirus D68 (EV‑D68) | Picornaviridae / Enterovirus / Enterovirus D | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Causes respiratory illness from mild cold to severe asthma-like disease; associated with acute flaccid myelitis in outbreaks. |
| Human parainfluenza virus 3 (HPIV-3) | Paramyxoviridae / Respirovirus / Human respirovirus 3 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants and young children; symptoms: cough, fever, wheeze. |
| Human bocavirus 1 | Parvoviridae / Bocaparvovirus / Primate bocaparvovirus 1 | Yes — primary human pathogen | Respiratory droplets; fecal–oral (suspected) | Linked to pediatric respiratory infections and sometimes gastroenteritis; often detected with other pathogens. |
| Human astrovirus | Astroviridae / Mamastrovirus / species vary | Yes — primary human pathogen | Fecal–oral; contact | Common cause of viral gastroenteritis in children: diarrhea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain; usually self-limited. |
| Herpes B virus (Macacine herpesvirus 1) | Herpesviridae / Simplexvirus / Macacine alphaherpesvirus 1 | No — primarily macaque virus with zoonotic risk | Bite/scratch; exposure to macaque bodily fluids | Causes severe, often fatal encephalitis in humans after macaque exposure; important occupational risk for primate handlers. |
| Human pegivirus (GBV‑C) | Flaviviridae / Pegivirus / Human pegivirus 1 | Yes — human-infecting flavivirus-like agent (generally asymptomatic) | Blood-borne; parenteral; sexual contact | Formerly “GB virus C”; usually asymptomatic; studied for possible effects on HIV disease progression. |
| H1N1 influenza A virus (subtype) | Orthomyxoviridae / Alphainfluenzavirus / Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 | Yes — human and animal pathogen (zoonotic exchanges) | Respiratory droplets; contact | Causes seasonal and pandemic influenza (fever, cough, myalgia); notable 2009 pandemic strain. |
| H3N2 influenza A virus (subtype) | Orthomyxoviridae / Alphainfluenzavirus / Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 | Yes — human and animal pathogen | Respiratory droplets; contact | Common seasonal influenza strain causing respiratory illness, higher impact in elderly. |
| H5N1 avian influenza A virus (H5N1) | Orthomyxoviridae / Alphainfluenzavirus / Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 | No — primarily avian with zoonotic spillover | Bird-to-human; contact with infected birds | Causes severe zoonotic respiratory disease in humans (high fatality); rare human-to-human transmission. |
| H7N9 avian influenza A virus | Orthomyxoviridae / Alphainfluenzavirus / Influenza A virus subtype H7N9 | No — primarily avian with zoonotic spillover | Bird-to-human; live poultry exposure | Zoonotic infections cause severe pneumonia and high mortality; limited human-to-human spread. |
| Human picobirnavirus | Picobirnaviridae / Picobirnavirus / species unassigned | Yes — detected in humans (clinical role uncertain) | Fecal–oral | Small two-segment RNA viruses found in stools; sometimes associated with diarrhea, role in disease not fully defined. |
| Human parvovirus 4 (PARV4) | Parvoviridae / Tetraparvovirus / Primate tetraparvovirus 1 | Yes — human-infecting (parenteral exposure) | Blood-borne; parenteral | Detected in blood and associated with parenteral exposures; clinical significance remains under study. |
| Human polyomavirus 6 | Polyomaviridae / Deltapolyomavirus / Human polyomavirus 6 | Yes — human-infecting (mostly asymptomatic) | Likely respiratory or skin contact | One of several recently discovered human polyomaviruses; mostly asymptomatic, studied in dermatologic and immunologic contexts. |
Descriptions
HIV
Hepatitis A virus
Hepatitis B virus
Hepatitis C virus
Hepatitis D virus (Delta)
Hepatitis E virus
Hantaan virus
Hendra virus
Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1)
Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2)
Human herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3)
Human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4, EBV)
Human herpesvirus 5 (HHV-5, CMV)
Human herpesvirus 6A
Human herpesvirus 6B
Human herpesvirus 7
Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8)
Human papillomavirus (HPV)
Human metapneumovirus (hMPV)
Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1)
Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 (HTLV-2)
Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
Human adenovirus
Human rhinovirus
Human coronavirus 229E
Human coronavirus OC43
Human coronavirus NL63
Human coronavirus HKU1
Human coronavirus SARS-CoV
Human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
Human parvovirus B19
Human polyomavirus 2 (JC virus)
Human polyomavirus 1 (BK virus)
Human enterovirus A71 (EV‑A71)
Human enterovirus D68 (EV‑D68)
Human parainfluenza virus 3 (HPIV-3)
Human bocavirus 1
Human astrovirus
Herpes B virus (Macacine herpesvirus 1)
Human pegivirus (GBV‑C)
H1N1 influenza A virus (subtype)
H3N2 influenza A virus (subtype)
H5N1 avian influenza A virus (H5N1)
H7N9 avian influenza A virus
Human picobirnavirus
Human parvovirus 4 (PARV4)
Human polyomavirus 6