Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia ...

• Main Authors: Korytár, Ľuboš, Ondrejková, Anna, Drážovská, Monika, Zemanová, Silvia, Prokeš, Marián
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2022
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Chordata; Animalia; bats; bat; Nyctalus noctula; Pipistrellus pipistrellus; Vespertilio murinus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13453898; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13453898

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Introduction. Bats are considered natural reservoirs for lyssaviruses. A total of 17 out of 19 known lyssaviruses circulate in bat populations. Lyssaviruses cause rabies in animals and humans. The transmission of lyssaviruses from European bats to terrestrial animals and humans is rare, but the risk of infection still exists even in developed countries. Slovakia is currently a rabies-free country. Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the potential circulation of EBLV-1 in synanthropic bats present in human inhabited buildings, and to give an overview of human exposure to bats. Materials and method. A passive serological survey targeted the prevalence of antibodies to bat lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats between 2009 – 2019. A total of 598 bats of the species Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Eptesicus serotinus, Nyctalus noctula and Vespertilio murinus were captured in buildings mainly in Eastern Slovakia, and examined by the rapid ...