Isolation of infectious Lloviu virus from Schreiber’s bats in Hungary

Abstract

Some filoviruses can be transmitted to humans by zoonotic spillover events from their natural host and filovirus outbreaks have occured with increasing frequency in the last years. The filovirus Lloviu virus (LLOV), was identified in 2002 in Schreiber’s bats (Miniopterus schreibersii) in Spain and was subsequently detected in bats in Hungary. Here we isolate infectious LLOV from the blood of a live sampled Schreiber’s bat in Hungary. The isolate is subsequently sequenced and cultured in the Miniopterus sp. kidney cell line SuBK12-08. It is furthermore able to infect monkey and human cells, suggesting that LLOV might have spillover potential. A multi-year surveillance of LLOV in bats in Hungary detects LLOV RNA in both deceased and live animals as well as in coupled ectoparasites from the families Nycteribiidae and Ixodidae. This correlates with LLOV seropositivity in sampled Schreiber’s bats. Our data support the role of bats, specifically Miniopterus schreibersii as hosts for LLOV in Europe. We suggest that bat-associated parasites might play a role in the natural ecology of filoviruses in temperate climate regions compared to filoviruses in the tropics.

Retrospective Detection and Complete Genomic Sequencing of Canine morbillivirus in Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) Using Nanopore Technology

“…NGS can be optimized for rapid sample preparation and real-time sequence analysis, as well as the rapid identification of certain pathogens [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Amplicon-based NGS sequencing is an increasingly preferred method in the rapid detection and genomic characterization of specific pathogens, with high specificity and sensitivity [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ].…”

Detection of filovirus-reactive antibodies in Australian bat species

“…Although no live ebolaviruses have been isolated from bat samples, serological and PCR data from fruit bat species in Africa support their role as reservoir hosts [9][10][11][12]. In addition, the closely related filovirus, Marburg virus (MARV), was isolated from samples from the Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegpytiacus in 2007/2008 [13,14] and another filovirus, Lloviu virus (LLOV), was isolated from Miniopterus schreibersii in Hungary earlier this year [15]. In recent years, serological evidence of filovirus infection in bats has been detected in various countries including China, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain, India and Trinidad [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

Revising the paradigm: Are bats really pathogen reservoirs or do they possess an efficient immune system?

“… ( Paul, Rajagopalan and Sreenivasan, 1970 ) 23 Marburg Filoviridae, Marburgvirus yes yes yes It can be concluded that there was no evidence of vertical transmission of infection in R. aegyptiacus. Virus isolated from spleen and liver however, virus was not detected in feces or urine collected from infected specimens or the cave floor ( Towner et al., 2009 ; Leendertz et al., 2016 ) 24 Lloviu virus Filoviridea, Cuevavirus yes yes yes ( Kemenesi et al., 2022 ) 25 Yokose8 virus Flaviviridae, Flavivirus yes no yes Not associated with disease in either bats or humans ( MacKenzie and Williams, 2009 ; MacKenzie and Williams, 2009 ; Tajima et al., 2005 ) 26 Yellow fever virus Flaviviridae, Flavivirus yes no no ( Price, 1978b ) 27 Uganda S virus Flaviviridae, Flavivirus no no yes ( Lumsden, Williams and Mason, 1961 ) 28 Tamana bat virus Flaviviridae, Flavivirus yes no yes ( Price, 1978a ) 28 St Louis encephalitis virus Flaviviridae, Flavivirus yes no no Were shown to be susceptible to infection ( Sulkin et al., 1963 ; Boiro, Konstaninov and Numerov, 1987 ) 29 Sokuluk virus Flaviviridae, Flavivirus no no yes Pathogenic for suckli...…”