Co-Circulation and Excretion Dynamics of Diverse Rubula- and Related Viruses in Egyptian Rousette Bats from South Africa.

Marinda Mortlock,Muriel Dietrich,Jacqueline Weyer,Janusz T Paweska,Wanda Markotter

doi:10.3390/v11010037

Abstract

The Egyptian rousette bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) has previously been implicated as the natural host of a zoonotic rubulavirus; however, its association with rubulaviruses has been studied to a limited extent. Urine, spleen, and other organs collected from the R. aegyptiacus population within South Africa were tested with a hemi-nested RT-PCR assay targeting a partial polymerase gene region of viruses from the Avula- and Rubulavirus genera. Urine was collected over a 14-month period to study the temporal dynamics of viral excretion. Diverse rubulaviruses, including viruses related to human mumps and parainfluenza virus 2, were detected. Active excretion was identified during two peak periods coinciding with the host reproductive cycle. Analysis of additional organs indicated co-infection of individual bats with a number of different putative rubulaviruses, highlighting the limitations of using a single sample type when determining viral presence and diversity. Our findings suggest that R. aegyptiacus can harbor a range of Rubula- and related viruses, some of which are related to known human pathogens. The observed peaks in viral excretion represents potential periods of a higher risk of virus transmission and zoonotic disease spill-over.

Highlights

Bats have been shown to have a high viral richness, with a considerable proportion associated with zoonoses [1], including members from the Paramyxoviridae family
South Africa [28], where longitudinal virological research is conducted as part of a broader biosurveillance research program on zoonotic pathogens associated with bats
With confirmation of virus excretion, a targeted longitudinal excretion analysis was performed, whereby 255 population-level pooled urine samples were tested for paramyxovirus RNA with a positivity of 15.68%

Summary

Introduction

Bats have been shown to have a high viral richness, with a considerable proportion associated with zoonoses [1], including members from the Paramyxoviridae family. Paramyxoviruses are non-segmented single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses belonging to one of seven genera with several unclassified members [2]. The emergence of the zoonotic Hendra virus in Australia and Nipah virus in Southeast. Henipaviruses have high morbidity and mortality rates, and outbreaks are reported on a near-annual basis. The 2018 epidemic of Nipah virus reported in Kerala, India, expanded the known geographical range of the virus to southwest India [6]. A large number of putative henipaviruses have been reported from bats sampled in several African countries [7,8,9,10]

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Conclusion