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Experimental infection of serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus) with European bat lyssavirus type 1a

¹ Institute for Epidemiology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Federal Research Institute of Animal Health, Seestrasse 55, 16868 Wusterhausen, Germany
² IDT Biologika GmbH, Am Pharmapark, 06861 Dessau-Rosslau, Germany
³ Rabies and Wildlife Zoonoses Group, WHO Collaborating Centre for the Characterisation of Rabies and Rabies-Related Viruses, Veterinary Laboratories Agency – Weybridge, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK
⁴ Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, Eberhard-Karls-University, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
⁵ Institut Pasteur, Department of Virology, Antiviral Strategy Unit, 25–28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris, France
⁶ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA

Correspondence
C. Freuling
conrad.freuling{at}fli.bund.de

The serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) accounts for the vast majority of bat rabies cases in Europe and is considered the main reservoir for European bat lyssavirus type 1 (EBLV-1, genotype 5). However, so far the disease has not been investigated in its native host under experimental conditions. To assess viral virulence, dissemination and probable means of transmission, captive bats were infected experimentally with an EBLV-1a virus isolated from a naturally infected conspecific from Germany. Twenty-nine wild caught bats were divided into five groups and inoculated by intracranial (i.c.), intramuscular (i.m.) or subcutaneous (s.c.) injection or by intranasal (i.n.) inoculation to mimic the various potential routes of infection. One group of bats was maintained as uninfected controls. Mortality was highest in the i.c.-infected animals, followed by the s.c. and i.m. groups. Incubation periods varied from 7 to 26 days depending on the route of infection. Rabies did not develop in the i.n. group or in the negative-control group. None of the infected bats seroconverted. Viral antigen was detected in more than 50 % of the taste buds of an i.c.-infected animal. Shedding of viable virus was measured by virus isolation in cell culture for one bat from the s.c. group at 13 and 14 days post-inoculation, i.e. 7 days before death. In conclusion, it is postulated that s.c. inoculation, in nature caused by bites, may be an efficient way of transmitting EBLV-1 among free-living serotine bats.

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