Natural infection of Neotropical bats with hantavirus in Brazil

• Published in: Scientific reports 2018-06, Vol.8 (1), p.9018-8, Article 9018
• Main Authors: Sabino-Santos Jr, Gilberto, Maia, Felipe Gonçalves Motta, Martins, Ronaldo Bragança, Gagliardi, Talita Bianca, Souza, William Marciel de, Muylaert, Renata Lara, Luna, Luciano Kleber de Souza, Melo, Danilo Machado, Cardoso, Ricardo de Souza, Barbosa, Natalia da Silva, Pontelli, Marjorie Cornejo, Mamani-Zapana, Priscila Rosse, Vieira, Thallyta Maria, Melo, Norma Maria, Jonsson, Colleen B., Goodin, Douglas, Salazar-Bravo, Jorge, daSilva, Luis Lamberti Pinto, Arruda, Eurico, Figueiredo, Luiz Tadeu Moraes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13/51; 45/22; 45/23; 45/77; 631/326/2521; 631/326/596/2564; 82/29; 82/51; 82/83; Animals; Bats; Brazil; Chiroptera; Chiroptera - blood; Chiroptera - classification; Chiroptera - virology; Desmodus rotundus; Disease Reservoirs - virology; Disease transmission; Disseminated infection; DNA sequencing; Genetic Variation; Genomes; Geography; Hantavirus; Hantavirus Infections - blood; Hantavirus Infections - transmission; Hantavirus Infections - virology; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Infections; Insectivores; multidisciplinary; New species; Orthohantavirus - classification; Orthohantavirus - genetics; Orthohantavirus - physiology; Outbreaks; Pathogens; Phylogeny; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sequence Analysis, DNA; Social behavior; Urine
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27442-w

Bats (Order: Chiroptera) harbor a high diversity of emerging pathogens presumably because their ability to fly and social behavior favor the maintenance, evolution, and dissemination of these pathogens. Until 2012, there was only one report of the presence of Hantaviru s in bats. Historically, it was thought that these viruses were harbored primarily by rodent and insectivore small mammals. Recently, new species of hantaviruses have been identified in bats from Africa and Asia continents expanding the potential reservoirs and range of these viruses. To assess the potential of Neotropical bats as hosts for hantaviruses and its transmission dynamics in nature, we tested 53 bats for active hantaviral infection from specimens collected in Southeastern Brazil. Part of the hantaviral S segment was amplified from the frugivorous Carollia perspicillata and the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus . DNA sequencing showed high similarity with the genome of Araraquara orthohantavirus (ARQV), which belongs to one of the more lethal hantavirus clades ( Andes orthohantavirus) . ARQV-like infection was detected in the blood, urine, and organs of D . rotundus . Therefore, we describe a systemic infection in Neotropical bats by a human pathogenic Hantavirus . We also propose here a schematic transmission dynamics of hantavirus in the study region. Our results give insights to new, under-appreciated questions that need to be addressed in future studies to clarify hantavirus transmission in nature and avoid hantavirus outbreaks.