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Background: Finland is a rabies virus-free country since 1991. Notification of suspected cases of rabies exposures, leading to post-exposure prophylaxis, is mandatory. We characterised suspected cases of rabies exposure, analysed animal surveillance data and calculated costs for vaccine and immunoglobulin and treatment to estimate the financial burden of rabies control in Finland., Methods: The incidence rate ratios of suspected cases of rabies exposure were calculated from Finnish Infectious Disease Registry and Statistics Finland data. Animal surveillance data were obtained from the Finnish Food Authority's registries. Calculation of costs were based on the medical and treatment costs of rabies control., Results: In 2007, one human rabies infection linked to a dog bite in the Philippines and rabies infection in a dog imported from India were diagnosed in Finland. In 2009, 2016 and 2017, lyssaviruses were found in bats. Notifications of suspected rabies exposures increased during 2007-2019. Two-thirds of the exposures occurred abroad, mainly in Asian and African countries. Bats were the most frequent domestic exposing animal. The import of vaccine and immunoglobulin doses increased. The annual cost of Finnish rabies control is estimated to be over €1.65 million., Conclusions: Increased awareness of rabies and bat lyssavirus infections probably increased post-exposure prophylaxis and reporting. Travellers need country-specific guidance on how to prevent exposures, and citizens need instructions on animal imports and how to handle bats.

A tentative novel member of the genus Lyssavirus, designated as Kotalahti bat lyssavirus, was detected in a Brandt's bat (Myotis brandtii) in Finland. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the virus differs from other known lyssaviruses, being closely related to Khujand virus, Aravan virus, Bokeloh bat lyssavirus and European bat lyssavirus 2., (© 2018 The Authors. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases Published by Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) was detected in Finland in a Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) found in the municipality of Inkoo (60°02'45″N, 024°00'20″E). The bat showed neurological signs and was later found dead. The laboratory analysis revealed the presence of lyssavirus, and the virus was characterized as EBLV-2. This isolation of EBLV-2 was the second time that the virus has been detected in a Daubenton's bat in Finland. This provides additional proof that EBLV-2 is endemic in the Finnish Daubenton's bat population.

Among other Lyssaviruses, Daubenton's and pond-bat-related European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) can cause human rabies. To investigate the diversity and evolutionary trends of EBLV-2, complete genome sequences of two Finnish isolates were analysed. One originated from a human case in 1985, and the other originated from a bat in 2009. The overall nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence identity of the two Finnish isolates were high, as well as the similarity to fully sequenced EBLV-2 strains originating from the UK and the Netherlands. In phylogenetic analysis, the EBLV-2 strains formed a monophyletic group that was separate from other bat-type lyssaviruses, with significant support. EBLV-2 shared the most recent common ancestry with Bokeloh bat lyssavirus (BBLV) and Khujan virus (KHUV). EBLV-2 showed limited diversity compared to RABV and appears to be well adapted to its host bat species. The slow tempo of viral evolution was evident in the estimations of divergence times for EBLV-2: the current diversity was estimated to have built up during the last 2000 years, and EBLV-2 diverged from KHUV about 8000 years ago. In a phylogenetic tree of partial N gene sequences, the Finnish EBLV-2 strains clustered with strains from Central Europe, supporting the hypothesis that EBLV-2 circulating in Finland might have a Central European origin. The Finnish EBLV-2 strains and a Swiss strain were estimated to have diverged from other EBLV-2 strains during the last 1000 years, and the two Finnish strains appear to have evolved from a common ancestor during the last 200 years.

Background: In 1985, a bat researcher in Finland died of rabies encephalitis caused by European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2), but an epidemiological study in 1986 did not reveal EBLV-infected bats. In 2009, an EBLV-2-positive Daubenton's bat was detected. The EBLV-2 isolate from the human case in 1985 and the isolate from the bat in 2009 were genetically closely related. In order to assess the prevalence of EBLVs in Finnish bat populations and to gain a better understanding of the public health risk that EBLV-infected bats pose, a targeted active surveillance project was initiated., Results: Altogether, 1156 bats of seven species were examined for lyssaviruses in Finland during a 28-year period (1985-2012), 898 in active surveillance and 258 in passive surveillance, with only one positive finding of EBLV-2 in a Daubenton's bat in 2009. In 2010-2011, saliva samples from 774 bats of seven species were analyzed for EBLV viral RNA, and sera from 423 bats were analyzed for the presence of bat lyssavirus antibodies. Antibodies were detected in Daubenton's bats in samples collected from two locations in 2010 and from one location in 2011. All seropositive locations are in close proximity to the place where the EBLV-2 positive Daubenton's bat was found in 2009. In active surveillance, no EBLV viral RNA was detected., Conclusions: These data suggest that EBLV-2 may circulate in Finland, even though the seroprevalence is low. Our results indicate that passive surveillance of dead or sick bats is a relevant means examine the occurrence of lyssavirus infection, but the number of bats submitted for laboratory analysis should be higher in order to obtain reliable information on the lyssavirus situation in the country.