First encounter of European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) in a bat in Finland

Jakava-Viljanen, Miia; Lilley, Thomas M.; Kyheröinen, Eeva-Maria; Huovilainen, Anita

doi:10.1017/s0950268810000373

Cited by 35 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The discovery of EBLV-2 in M. daubentonii in Finland (2009) provided evidence for the possible origin of human infection in 1985 [40]. Prior to this latter case, surveillance had failed to detect EBLV-2 in Finland despite intensive efforts in 1986 by active surveillance [45] and continued passive surveillance since (albeit for low submissions averaging 10/year).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Epidemiology and Evolution of European Bat Lyssavirus 2

McElhinney

Marston

Wise

et al. 2018

IJMS

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Bat rabies cases in Europe are mainly attributed to two lyssaviruses, namely European Bat Lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) and European Bat Lyssavirus 2 (EBLV-2). Prior to the death of a bat worker in Finland in 1985, very few bat rabies cases were reported. Enhanced surveillance in the two subsequent years (1986–1987) identified 263 cases (more than a fifth of all reported cases to date). Between 1977 and 2016, 1183 cases of bat rabies were reported, with the vast majority (>97%) being attributed to EBLV-1. In contrast, there have been only 39 suspected cases of EBLV-2, of which 34 have been confirmed by virus typing and presently restricted to just two bat species; Myotis daubentonii and Myotis dasycneme. The limited number of EBLV-2 cases in Europe prompted the establishment of a network of European reference laboratories to collate all available viruses and data. Despite the relatively low number of EBLV-2 cases, a large amount of anomalous data has been published in the scientific literature, which we have here reviewed and clarified. In this review, 29 EBLV-2 full genome sequences have been analysed to further our understanding of the diversity and molecular evolution of EBLV-2 in Europe. Analysis of the 29 complete EBLV-2 genome sequences clearly corroborated geographical relationships with all EBLV-2 sequences clustering at the country level irrespective of the gene studied. Further geographical clustering was also observed at a local level. There are high levels of homogeneity within the EBLV-2 species with nucleotide identities ranging from 95.5–100% and amino acid identities between 98.7% and 100%, despite the widespread distribution of the isolates both geographically and chronologically. The mean substitution rate for EBLV-2 across the five concatenated genes was 1.65 × 10−5, and evolutionary clock analysis confirms the slow evolution of EBLV-2 both between and within countries in Europe. This is further supported by the first detailed EBLV-2 intra-roost genomic analysis whereby a relatively high sequence homogeneity was found across the genomes of three EBLV-2 isolates obtained several years apart (2007, 2008, and 2014) from M. daubentonii at the same site (Stokesay Castle, Shropshire, UK).

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Epidemiology and Evolution of European Bat Lyssavirus 2

McElhinney

Marston

Wise

et al. 2018

IJMS

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“…For example, only 8 out of 199, 111 out of 3,873, and 144 out of 7,457 collected bats in passive surveillance projects in Finland, Netherlands, and UK, respectively, were of this bat species (10, 27, 28). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lyssavirus-reactive antibodies in Swedish bats

Hammarin

Berndtsson

Falk

et al. 2016

Infection Ecology & Epidemiology

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IntroductionTo study the presence of European bat lyssavirus (EBLV) infections in bat reservoirs in Sweden, active surveillance was performed during the summers from 2008 to 2013.Material and methodsBat specimens were collected at >20 bat colonies in the central, southeastern, and southern parts of Sweden. In total, blood and saliva of 452 bats were examined by a virus neutralization test and by reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCRs).Results and discussionEBLV neutralizing antibodies were detected in 14 Daubenton's bats (Myotis daubentonii), all trapped in Skåne or Småland (south and southeast of Sweden). The result was not unexpected since EBLV has been shown to be present in many neighboring countries, for example, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Norway. However, Sweden has been regarded free of rabies in terrestrial mammals since 1896. Although very rare, spillover of EBLV into other animals and humans have occurred, and the risk of EBLV infection to other species including humans should not be ignored. This is the first report of lyssavirus infection in Swedish bats.

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“…Very few bats have been examined for rabies in Norway, and we have no knowledge of the prevalence and epidemiology of EBLV. In neighbouring countries, EBLV-2 was detected in diseased Daubenton’s bats in Finland in 2009 and 2016 [15, 44], while active surveillance has revealed viral RNA from mouth swabs from Daubenton’s bat in Denmark and seropositive Daubenton’s bats in both Sweden and Finland [16, 17, 45]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the EURL confirmed the presence of lyssavirus in the RTCIT. The negative result for FAT does not concur with findings in other Daubenton’s bats naturally infected with EBLV-2 [11, 13–15, 44, 46–51]. The annual proficiency tests for rabies diagnosis techniques organized by the EURL have demonstrated the difficulty for laboratories to reliably detect EBLV strains when using the FAT [52], with results depending on the rabies virus antibody conjugate and even the batch used [53].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First detection of European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) in Norway

et al. 2017

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BackgroundIn Europe, bat rabies is primarily attributed to European bat lyssavirus type 1 (EBLV-1) and European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) which are both strongly host-specific. Approximately thirty cases of infection with EBLV-2 in Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) and pond bats (M. dasycneme) have been reported. Two human cases of rabies caused by EBLV-2 have also been confirmed during the last thirty years, while natural spill-over to other non-flying mammals has never been reported. Rabies has never been diagnosed in mainland Norway previously.Case presentationIn late September 2015, a subadult male Daubenton’s bat was found in a poor condition 800 m above sea level in the southern part of Norway. The bat was brought to the national Bat Care Centre where it eventually displayed signs of neurological disease and died after two days. EBLV-2 was detected in brain tissues by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by sequencing of a part of the nucleoprotein gene, and lyssavirus was isolated in neuroblastoma cells.ConclusionsThe detection of EBLV-2 in a bat in Norway broadens the knowledge on the occurrence of this zoonotic agent. Since Norway is considered free of rabies, adequate information to the general public regarding the possibility of human cases of bat-associated rabies should be given. No extensive surveillance of lyssavirus infections in bats has been conducted in the country, and a passive surveillance network to assess rabies prevalence and bat epidemiology is highly desired.

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First encounter of European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) in a bat in Finland

Cited by 35 publications

References 8 publications

Molecular Epidemiology and Evolution of European Bat Lyssavirus 2

Molecular Epidemiology and Evolution of European Bat Lyssavirus 2

Lyssavirus-reactive antibodies in Swedish bats

First detection of European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) in Norway

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