Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia
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...
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Institute of Rural Health
2022
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6ce82bc142a84b2395a6ce8cb250c0d9 2023-05-15T17:48:39+02:00 Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia Ľuboš Korytár Anna Ondrejková Monika Drážovská Silvia Zemanová Marián Prokeš 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.26444/aaem/146208 https://doaj.org/article/6ce82bc142a84b2395a6ce8cb250c0d9 EN eng Institute of Rural Health http://www.aaem.pl/Serological-survey-of-lyssaviruses-in-synanthropic-bats-and-human-exposure-to-bats,146208,0,2.html https://doaj.org/toc/1232-1966 https://doaj.org/toc/1898-2263 1232-1966 1898-2263 doi:10.26444/aaem/146208 https://doaj.org/article/6ce82bc142a84b2395a6ce8cb250c0d9 Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, Vol 29, Iss 1, Pp 44-49 (2022) seroprevalence human exposure surveillance slovakia bats lyssaviruses one health Agriculture S Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.26444/aaem/146208 2022-12-30T22:58:39Z 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. Material and methods 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 fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT). Results Lyssavirus-specific antibodies were detected in 2 (0.3%) of the 598 examined bats. Additionally, brain tissues of bats found dead were examined using the standard fluorescent antibody test (FAT) with negative results. An overview of available data on human exposure to bats recorded in Slovakia from 2007 – 2019 is also included. Conclusions The study confirmed the presence of lyssavirus antibodies in synanthropic bats in Slovakia, suggesting the active circulation of bat lyssaviruses in bat populations exploiting human buildings. Although the seroprevalence was found to be extremely low, the results show that any case of human exposure to bats must be treated with caution in order to protect public health. Article in Journal/Newspaper Nyctalus noctula Pipistrellus pipistrellus Vespertilio murinus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine 29 1 44 49 |
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language |
English |
topic |
seroprevalence human exposure surveillance slovakia bats lyssaviruses one health Agriculture S Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
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seroprevalence human exposure surveillance slovakia bats lyssaviruses one health Agriculture S Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ľuboš Korytár Anna Ondrejková Monika Drážovská Silvia Zemanová Marián Prokeš Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia |
topic_facet |
seroprevalence human exposure surveillance slovakia bats lyssaviruses one health Agriculture S Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
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. Material and methods 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 fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT). Results Lyssavirus-specific antibodies were detected in 2 (0.3%) of the 598 examined bats. Additionally, brain tissues of bats found dead were examined using the standard fluorescent antibody test (FAT) with negative results. An overview of available data on human exposure to bats recorded in Slovakia from 2007 – 2019 is also included. Conclusions The study confirmed the presence of lyssavirus antibodies in synanthropic bats in Slovakia, suggesting the active circulation of bat lyssaviruses in bat populations exploiting human buildings. Although the seroprevalence was found to be extremely low, the results show that any case of human exposure to bats must be treated with caution in order to protect public health. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ľuboš Korytár Anna Ondrejková Monika Drážovská Silvia Zemanová Marián Prokeš |
author_facet |
Ľuboš Korytár Anna Ondrejková Monika Drážovská Silvia Zemanová Marián Prokeš |
author_sort |
Ľuboš Korytár |
title |
Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia |
title_short |
Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia |
title_full |
Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia |
title_fullStr |
Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in Slovakia |
title_sort |
serological survey of lyssaviruses in synanthropic bats and human exposure to bats in slovakia |
publisher |
Institute of Rural Health |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.26444/aaem/146208 https://doaj.org/article/6ce82bc142a84b2395a6ce8cb250c0d9 |
genre |
Nyctalus noctula Pipistrellus pipistrellus Vespertilio murinus |
genre_facet |
Nyctalus noctula Pipistrellus pipistrellus Vespertilio murinus |
op_source |
Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, Vol 29, Iss 1, Pp 44-49 (2022) |
op_relation |
http://www.aaem.pl/Serological-survey-of-lyssaviruses-in-synanthropic-bats-and-human-exposure-to-bats,146208,0,2.html https://doaj.org/toc/1232-1966 https://doaj.org/toc/1898-2263 1232-1966 1898-2263 doi:10.26444/aaem/146208 https://doaj.org/article/6ce82bc142a84b2395a6ce8cb250c0d9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26444/aaem/146208 |
container_title |
Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
44 |
op_container_end_page |
49 |
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1766154779500740608 |