ena-STUDY-Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute-11-04-2017-14:08:53:662-450
The recently discovered Bokeloh Bat Lyssavirus - Evidence for its continued transmission in Europe
In 2010, a novel lyssavirus named Bokeloh bat Lyssavirus (BBLV) was isolated from a Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri) in Germany. Two further viruses were isolated in the same country and in France in recent years, all from the same bat species and all found in moribund or dead bats. Here we report the first rabies case caused by BBLV in a Pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), a widespread and abundant bat species in Europe. The bat was initially found injured during daytime in December 2015 and was taken to a regional bat conservationist for rehabilitation and eventual return to the wild, but died XX days later without clear signs of a disease. The bat was subject of sampling in the frame of retrospective bat lyssavirus surveillance, and initial fluorescent antibody test results were corroborated by realtime RT-PCR specific for BBLV. Full genome sequence analyses of this and two other novel BBLV isolates from France and Germany revealed that this spill-over is distantly related to BBLV from the same area. Against the background of five novel BBLV isolates including one spillover case reported here, this lyssavirus appears to resemble an unexplained emergence, as bat lyssavirus surveillance activities have not much changed over the past decade. Further research into virus-host interaction including pathogenicity studies in the reservoir species are needed to elucidate the emergence of this potentially zoonotic virus.
In 2010, a novel lyssavirus named Bokeloh bat Lyssavirus (BBLV) was isolated from a Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri) in Germany. Two further viruses were isolated in the same country and in France in recent years, all from the same bat species and all found in moribund or dead bats. Here we report the first rabies case caused by BBLV in a Pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), a widespread and abundant bat species in Europe. The bat was initially found injured during daytime in December 2015 and was taken to a regional bat conservationist for rehabilitation and eventual return to the wild, but died XX days later without clear signs of a disease. The bat was subject of sampling in the frame of retrospective bat lyssavirus surveillance, and initial fluorescent antibody test results were corroborated by realtime RT-PCR specific for BBLV. Full genome sequence analyses of this and two other novel BBLV isolates from France and Germany revealed that this spill-over is distantly related to BBLV from the same area. Against the background of five novel BBLV isolates including one spillover case reported here, this lyssavirus appears to resemble an unexplained emergence, as bat lyssavirus surveillance activities have not much changed over the past decade. Further research into virus-host interaction including pathogenicity studies in the reservoir species are needed to elucidate the emergence of this potentially zoonotic virus.