Australian Bat Lyssavirus in a Child: The First Reported Case

Francis, Joshua; Nourse, Clare; Vaska, Vikram L.; Calvert, Sophie; Northill, Judy A; McCall, Bradley J; Mattke, Adrian

doi:10.1542/peds.2013-1782

Cited by 60 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Similar exposure to other mammals in Australia with confirmed ABLV infection was also considered as a potential exposure to ABLV. For the reporting period there were two horses [10] and one human [8] with confirmed ABLV infection reported in Queensland, Australia.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Potential Exposures to Australian Bat Lyssavirus Notified in Queensland, Australia, 2009−2014

Marquess

Donnan

et al. 2016

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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BackgroundAustralian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) belongs to the genus Lyssavirus which also includes classic rabies virus and the European lyssaviruses. To date, the only three known human ABLV cases, all fatal, have been reported from Queensland, Australia. ABLV is widely distributed in Australian bats, and any bite or scratch from an Australian bat is considered a potential exposure to ABLV.Methodology/Principal FindingsPotential exposure to ABLV has been a notifiable condition in Queensland since 2005. We analysed notification data for potential exposures occurring between 2009 and 2014. There were 1,515 potential exposures to ABLV notified in Queensland, with an average annual notification rate of 5.6 per 100,000 population per year. The majority of notified individuals (96%) were potentially exposed to ABLV via bats, with a small number of cases potentially exposed via two ABLV infected horses and an ABLV infected human. The most common routes of potential exposure were through bat scratches (47%) or bites (37%), with less common routes being mucous membrane/broken skin exposure to bat saliva/brain tissue (2.2%). Intentional handling of bats by the general public was the major cause of potential exposures (56% of notifications). Examples of these potential exposures included people attempting to rescue bats caught in barbed wire fences/fruit tree netting, or attempting to remove bats from a home. Following potential exposures, 1,399 cases (92%) were recorded as having appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) as defined in national guidelines, with the remainder having documentation of refusal or incomplete PEP. Up to a quarter of notifications occurred after two days from the potential exposure, but with some delays being more than three weeks. Of 393 bats available for testing during the reporting period, 20 (5.1%) had ABLV detected, including four species of megabats (all flying foxes) and one species of microbats (yellow-bellied sheathtail bat).Conclusions/SignificancePublic health strategies should address the strong motivation of some members of the public to help injured bats or bats in distress, by emphasising that their action may harm the bat and put themselves at risk of the fatal ABLV infection. Alternative messaging should include seeking advice from professional animal rescue groups, or in the event of human contact, public health units. Further efforts are required to ensure that when potential exposure occurs, timely reporting and appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis occur.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cases occurred in 1996 [6], 1998 [7], and 2013 [8], with each case having a history of bat bite/s and/or scratch/es within Queensland.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Exposures to Australian Bat Lyssavirus Notified in Queensland, Australia, 2009−2014

Marquess

Donnan

et al. 2016

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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“…However one of the three ABLV-associated deaths involved a child [10], where the young boy did not report the exposure event (i.e. bat scratch) early enough to be given PET for ABLV.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All were reported from Queensland and all subsequently died from the infection. Two of the cases were reported in the mid-1990s in females aged 30-40 years [8,9] and a child was infected by a bat in north Queensland in late 2012 and died in early 2013 [10]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding human – bat interactions in NSW, Australia: improving risk communication for prevention of Australian bat lyssavirus

et al. 2014

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BackgroundAustralian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) infects a number of flying fox and insectivorous bats species in Australia. Human infection with ABLV is inevitably fatal unless prior vaccination and/or post-exposure treatment (PET) is given. Despite ongoing public health messaging about the risks associated with bat contact, surveillance data have revealed a four-fold increase in the number of people receiving PET for bat exposure in NSW between 2007 and 2011. Our study aimed to better understand these human – bat interactions in order to identify additional risk communication messages that could lower the risk of potential ABLV exposure. All people aged 18 years or over whom received PET for non-occupation related potential ABLV exposure in the Hunter New England Local Health District of Australia between July 2011 and July 2013 were considered eligible for the study. Eligible participants were invited to a telephone interview to explore the circumstances of their bat contact. Interviews were then transcribed and thematically analysed by two independent investigators.ResultsOf 21 eligible participants that were able to be contacted, 16 consented and participated in a telephone interview. Participants reported bats as being widespread in their environment but reported a general lack of awareness about ABLV, particularly the risk of disease from bat scratches. Participants who attempted to ‘rescue’ bats did so because of a deep concern for the bat’s welfare. Participants reported a change in risk perception after the exposure event and provided suggestions for public health messages that could be used to raise awareness about ABLV.ConclusionsReframing the current risk messages to account for the genuine concern of people for bat welfare may enhance the communication. The potential risk to the person and possible harm to the bat from an attempted ‘rescue’ should be promoted, along with contact details for animal rescue groups. The potential risk of ABLV from bat scratches merits greater emphasis.

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“…1 The other species, mainly of bats, are rabies-related lyssaviruses that may be equally pathogenic. [2][3][4] Rabies infection should be entirely preventable. However, when effective treatment is unavailable, unaffordable, delayed or incomplete, virus inoculated into a bite wound can ascend intraneuronally to the brain 5 resulting in fatal encephalomyelitis (Fig 1).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rabies: the clinical features, management and prevention of the classic zoonosis

Warrell

2015

Clinical Medicine

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Rabies virus causes fatal encephalomyelitis in humans. It is one of 12 species of the Lyssavirus genus. 1 The other species, mainly of bats, are rabies-related lyssaviruses that may be equally pathogenic. [2][3][4] Rabies infection should be entirely preventable. However, when effective treatment is unavailable, unaffordable, delayed or incomplete, virus inoculated into a bite wound can ascend intraneuronally to the brain 5 resulting in fatal encephalomyelitis (Fig 1).

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Australian Bat Lyssavirus in a Child: The First Reported Case

Cited by 60 publications

References 20 publications

Potential Exposures to Australian Bat Lyssavirus Notified in Queensland, Australia, 2009−2014

Potential Exposures to Australian Bat Lyssavirus Notified in Queensland, Australia, 2009−2014

Understanding human – bat interactions in NSW, Australia: improving risk communication for prevention of Australian bat lyssavirus

Rabies: the clinical features, management and prevention of the classic zoonosis

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