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The virosphere is largely unexplored and the majority of viruses are yet to be represented in public sequence databases. Bats are rich reservoirs of viruses, including several zoonoses. In this study, high throughput sequencing (HTS) of viral RNA extracted from swabs of four body sites per bat per timepoint is used to characterize the virome through a longitudinal study of a captive colony of fruit nectar bats, species Eonycteris spelaea in Singapore. Through unbiased shotgun and target enrichment sequencing, we identify both known and previously unknown viruses of zoonotic relevance and define the population persistence and temporal patterns of viruses from families that have the capacity to jump the species barrier. To our knowledge, this is the first study that combines probe-based viral enrichment with HTS to create a viral profile from multiple swab sites on individual bats and their cohort. This work demonstrates temporal patterns of the lesser dawn bat virome, including several novel viruses. Given the known risk for bat–human zoonoses, a more complete understanding of the viral dynamics in South-eastern Asian bats has significant implications for disease prevention and control. The findings of this study will be of interest to U.S. Department of Defense personnel stationed in the Asia-Pacific region and regional public health laboratories engaged in emerging infectious disease surveillance efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Marburg virus disease (MVD) describes a viral haemorrhagic fever responsible for a number of outbreaks across eastern and southern Africa. It is a zoonotic disease, with the Egyptian rousette (Rousettus aegyptiacus) identified as a reservoir host. Infection is suspected to result from contact between this reservoir and human populations, with occasional secondary human-to-human transmission. Methods: Index cases of previous human outbreaks were identified and reports of infection in animals recorded. These data were modelled within a species distribution modelling framework in order to generate a probabilistic surface of zoonotic transmission potential of MVD across sub-Saharan Africa. Results: Areas suitable for zoonotic transmission of MVD are predicted in 27 countries inhabited by 105 million people. Regions are suggested for exploratory surveys to better characterise the geographical distribution of the disease, as well as for directing efforts to communicate the risk of practices enhancing zoonotic contact. Conclusions: These maps can inform future contingency and preparedness strategies for MVD control, especially where secondary transmission is a risk. Coupling this risk map with patient travel histories could be used to guide the differential diagnosis of highly transmissible pathogens, enabling more rapid response to outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical and laboratory features were analyzed in dog- and bat-acquired human rabies cases. Aerophobia, hydrophobia, and encephalopathy were more common in dog-acquired rabies, whereas focal neurological deficit, local sensory symptoms, and myoclonus were more common in bat-acquired rabies.Background Clinical differences in rabies due to canine and bat rabies virus variants have been noted, but no detailed studies have been reported to support these observations. Methods Using the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and PubMed, we identified 142 case reports of rabies from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. We systematically abstracted 126 selected data elements and compared clinical features and investigation results in dog- and bat-acquired cases of rabies. Results Survivors and cases acquired from aerosolized viral exposure or tissue/organ transplant were excluded (n = 20). Of 122 cases, 49 (40.2%) were dog-acquired and 54 (44.3%) were bat-acquired. Bat-acquired cases of rabies were more often misdiagnosed and lacked a bite history. Encephalopathy, hydrophobia, and aerophobia were more common in dog-acquired rabies. Abnormal cranial nerve, motor, and sensory examinations, tremor, myoclonus, local sensory symptoms, symptoms at the exposure site, and local symptoms in the absence of a bite or scratch were more common in patients with bat-acquired rabies, as was increased cerebrospinal fluid protein (P = .031). Patients with paralytic rabies had longer survival times than those with encephalitic rabies, and also had shorter incubation periods if they had received postexposure prophylaxis. Conclusions Clinical differences in dog- and bat-acquired rabies may reflect differences in the route of viral spread of rabies virus variants in the nervous system, although certain variants could cause more severe dysfunction in neuronal subpopulations. Recognition that bat-acquired rabies may present with different clinical manifestations than dog-acquired rabies may help improve the early diagnosis of rabies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nipah virus (NiV) is a paramyxovirus whose reservoir host is fruit bats of the genus Pteropus. Occasionally the virus is introduced into human populations and causes severe illness characterized by encephalitis or respiratory disease. The first outbreak of NiV was recognized in Malaysia, but 8 outbreaks have been reported from Bangladesh since 2001. The primary pathways of transmission from bats to people in Bangladesh are through contamination of raw date palm sap by bats with subsequent consumption by humans and through infection of domestic animals (cattle, pigs, and goats), presumably from consumption of food contaminated with bat saliva or urine with subsequent transmission to people. Approximately onehalf of recognized Nipah case patients in Bangladesh developed their disease following person-to-person transmission of the virus. Efforts to prevent transmission should focus on decreasing bat access to date palm sap and reducing family members' and friends' exposure to infected patients' saliva. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. We assessed the scientific basis and practical implications of recommendations made since the late 1990s to offer rabies postexposure prophylaxis (RPEP) for occult bat encounters, including recommendations to offer RPEP to persons with bedroom exposure to a bat while sleeping without evidence of direct physical contact. Methods. The number needed to treat after bedroom exposure to a bat was calculated as the percentage of population exposed multiplied by the inverse of crude rabies incidence. Bedroom exposure was estimated in a population survey of 14,453 households. Incidence was based on reported human cases in Canada and the United States, 1990-2007. Results. In the population surveyed, bedroom bat exposure while sleeping and without known physical contact occurred at an annual rate of 0.099%. We estimate that !5% of eligible persons with bedroom exposure receive RPEP as recommended. The incidence of human rabies due to bedroom bat exposure without recognized contact was 1 case per 2.7 billion person-years. The number needed to treat to prevent a single case of human rabies in that context ranges from 314,000 to 2.7 million persons. A total of 293-2500 health care professionals working full-time for a full year would be required to prevent a single human case of bat rabies due to bedroom exposure without recognized contact. Amounts of Can $228 million to Can $2.0 billion are additionally required for associated material costs. Conclusions. Human rabies acquired through bedroom exposure to a bat while sleeping and without recognized contact is rare. Conversely, such exposures are not uncommon in the population, and the resources required for associated RPEP are orders of magnitude higher than those required for most interventions that are considered to be reasonable. Current RPEP recommendations related to occult bat contact should be reconsidered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates fruit bats as the plausible reservoirs of Ebola virus in Africa. Researchers have collected candidate animals from sites near infected chimpanzees and gorilla carcasses in Gabon and Republic of Congo. Their examination detected immunoglobulin G antibody to Ebola antigens in three fruit bat species.

The article presents a case study of a 44-year-old woman who returned to the U.S. from a 2-week safari in Uganda and eventually acquired Marburg Hemorrhagic fever (MHF). Three days after the patient's arrival, she experienced severe headache, chills, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It discusses the pathology of Marburg virus (MARV) which is said to be carried out by fruit bats in a growing evidence.

The articled reports on the outbreak of Marburg virus hemorrhagic fever in miners in Uganda. It states that the disease has infected various workers in a gold mine which resulted towards the death of 128 miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1998-2000. It was inferred that different areas in the country has been infected with the disease which resulted to various deaths. It is believed that the spread of the disease maybe caused by the bats and monkeys in a government forest living near the mining site.

The article reports on the discovery that horseshoe bats are natural reservoirs of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV) in China. Recent studies indicate that there is a high seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV recovered from feral horseshoe bats. The genomes of the coronavirus in bat feces were highly homologous with those of SARS-CoV, but their sequences demonstrated greater genetic diversity than did the sequences for virus isolated from humans.

This article reports that, according to a Chinese health expert, a species of bats in China might have been the source of the severe acute respiratory virus (SARS) epidemic in 2003, adding that the creatures probably passed it to civet cats, which then passed it to humans. Zhong Nanshan, China's leading SARS expert, said these bats were stored in cages while waiting for buyers in wholesale markets in southern Guangdong province and may have easily passed on viruses to other species. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, began spreading in Guangdong in late 2002, and among its earliest victims was a chef who handled civet cats.