Titel (eng)

Hantavirus Brno loanvirus is highly specific to the common noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula) and widespread in Central Europe

Autor*in

Maysaa Dafalla   Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut

Rainer G. Ulrich   Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut / German Center for Infection Research

Gerald Heckel   University of Bern / SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics

Sasan Fereidouni   University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

Stephan Drewes   Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut

Jerzy Rola   National Veterinary Research Institute

Xuejing Wang   University of Bern

Conrad Martin Freuling   Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut

Thomas Müller   Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut

Marcin Smreczak   National Veterinary Research Institute

Gudrun Gudrun   Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research

Bernd Hoffmann   Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut

Kathrin Jeske   Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut

Kore Schlottau   Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut

Petra Straková   Veterinary Research Institute

Anna Orłowska   National Veterinary Research Institute

Sinan Julian Keleş   University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

Verlag

Springer

Beschreibung (eng)

Bat-associated hantaviruses have been detected in Asia, Africa and Europe. Recently, a novel hantavirus (Brno loanvirus, BRNV) was identified in common noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula) in the Czech Republic, but nothing is known about its geographical range and prevalence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the distribution and host specificity of BRNV by testing bats from neighbouring countries Germany, Austria and Poland. One thousand forty-seven bats representing 21 species from Germany, 464 bats representing 18 species from Austria and 77 bats representing 12 species from Poland were screened by L segment broad-spectrum nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or by BRNV-specific real-time RT-PCR. Three common noctules from Germany, one common noctule from Austria and three common noctules from Poland were positive in the hantavirus RNA screening. Conventional RT-PCR and primer walking resulted in the amplification of partial L segment and (almost) complete S and M segment coding sequences for samples from Germany and partial L segment sequences for samples from Poland. Phylogenetic analysis of these nucleotide sequences showed highest similarity to BRNV from Czech Republic. The exclusive detection of BRNV in common noctules from different countries suggests high host specificity. The RNA detection rate in common noctules ranged between 1 of 207 (0.5%; Austria), 3 of 245 (1.2%; Germany) and 3 of 20 (15%; Poland). In conclusion, this study demonstrates a broader distribution of BRNV in common noctules in Central Europe, but at low to moderate prevalence. Additional studies are needed to prove the zoonotic potential of this hantavirus and evaluate its transmission within bat populations.

Sprache des Objekts

Englisch

Datum

2022

Rechte

Dieses Werk bzw. dieser Inhalt steht unter einer
CC BY 4.0 - Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International Lizenz.

CC BY 4.0 International

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Klassifikation

Animals; Chiroptera; Phylogeny; Orthohantavirus Genetics; Europe; Hantavirus Infections Epidemiology Veterinary; RNA, Viral Genetics

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