title: Twenty years of active bat rabies surveillance in Germany: a detailed analysis and future perspectives.
abstract: In Germany, active bat rabies surveillance was conducted between 1993 and 2012. A total of 4546 oropharyngeal swab samples from 18 bat species were screened for the presence of EBLV-1- , EBLV-2- and BBLV-specific RNA. Overall, 0·15% of oropharyngeal swab samples tested EBLV-1 positive, with the majority originating from Eptesicus serotinus. Interestingly, out of seven RT-PCR-positive oropharyngeal swabs subjected to virus isolation, viable virus was isolated from a single serotine bat (E. serotinus). Additionally, about 1226 blood samples were tested serologically, and varying virus neutralizing antibody titres were found in at least eight different bat species. The detection of viral RNA and seroconversion in repeatedly sampled serotine bats indicates long-term circulation of the virus in a particular bat colony. The limitations of random-based active bat rabies surveillance over passive bat rabies surveillance and its possible application of targeted approaches for future research activities on bat lyssavirus dynamics and maintenance are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schatz
authors.affiliation: Biosphärenreservat Karstlandschaft Südharz, Landesreferenzstelle für Fledermausschutz Sachsen-Anhalt, Roßla, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ohlendorf
authors.affiliation: Arbeitskreis Fledermäuse Sachsen-Anhalt e.V., Stolberg, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Busse
authors.affiliation: Landesfachausschuss Säugetierkunde Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pelz
authors.affiliation: Landesamt für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz Land Brandenburg, Naturschutzstation Zippelsförde, Zippelsförde, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dolch
authors.affiliation: Landesamt für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz Land Brandenburg, Naturschutzstation Zippelsförde, Zippelsförde, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Teubner
authors.affiliation: Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Mammalian Ecology Group, Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Encarnação
authors.affiliation: University of Potsdam, Department of Animal Ecology, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: R-U
authors.initials: RU
authors.lastname: Mühle
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kwasnitschka
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balkema-Buschmann
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Mettenleiter
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Freuling
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002685:Chiroptera; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral