title: Molecular characterization of Nipah virus from Pteropus hypomelanus in Southern Thailand.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nipah virus (NiV) first emerged in Malaysia in 1998, with two bat species (Pteropus hypomelanus and P. vampyrus) as the putative natural reservoirs. In 2002, NiV IgG antibodies were detected in these species from Thailand, but viral RNA could not be detected for strain characterization. Two strains of NiV (Malaysia and Bangladesh) have been found in P. lylei in central Thailand, although Bangladesh strain, the causative strain for the outbreak in Bangladesh since 2001, was dominant. To understand the diversity of NiV in Thailand, this study identified NiV strain, using molecular characterizations, from P. hypomelanus in southern Thailand.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pooled bat urine specimens were collected from plastic sheet underneath bat roosts in April 2010, and then monthly from December 2010 to May 2011 at an island in southern Thailand. Five in 184 specimens were positive for NiV, using duplex nested RT-PCR assay on partial nucleocapsid fragment (357 bp). Whole sequences of nucleocapsid gene from four bats were characterized. All 5 partial fragments and 4 whole nucleocapsid genes formed a monophyletic with NiV-MY.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study showed that P. hypomelanus in southern Thailand and from Malaysia, a bordering country, harbored similar NiV. This finding indicates that NiV is not limited to central Thailand or P. lylei species, and it may be a source of inter-species transmission. This indicates a higher potential for a widespread NiV outbreak in Thailand. NiV surveillance in Pteropus bats, the major natural reservoirs, should be conducted continuously in countries or regions with high susceptibility to outbreaks.
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. spwa@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Supaporn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wacharapluesadee
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Panumas
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Samseeneam
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Mana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Phermpool
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Thongchai
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaewpom
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Apaporn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodpan
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Pattarapol
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maneeorn
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Phimchanok
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Srongmongkol
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Budsabong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kanchanasaka
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Thiravat
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hemachudha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D045405:Nipah Virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019251:Nucleocapsid / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013785:Thailand; D014556:Urine / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Bats; Nipah virus; Southern; Strain; Thailand; Transmission