Lagos bat virus
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Lagos bat virus is a lyssavirus of southern and central Africa that causes a rabies-like illness in mammals. It was first isolated from a fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) from Lagos Island, Nigeria in 1956[1]. Brain samples from the bat showed poor cross-reactivity to rabies antibodies but the virus was found to be closely related to the rabies virus. This was the first discovery of a rabies-related virus. Until this time, rabies was thought to have a single causal agent. Four more lyssavirus species and numerous tentative species have since been identified.
Lagos bat virus has been isolated from wild and domestic mammals in southern Africa including bats, cats and one dog[2]. One isolate was made in France in 1999 when a fruit bat (Rousettus egypticus) which had been displaying signs of aggression, died. The bat had been imported from Africa[3].
No human cases of Lagos bat virus infection have been documented.
[edit] References
- ^ Boulger LR, Porterfield JS. Isolation of a virus from Nigerian fruit bats. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1958; 52: 421-424. PMID 13592882.
- ^ Markotter W, Randles J, Rupprecht CE et al. Lagos bat virus, South Africa. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2006; 12(3): 504-506. PMID 16704795. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no03/05-1306.htm
- ^ Picard-Meyer E, Barrat J, Wasniewski M et al. Epidemiology of rabid bats in France, 1989 to 2002. The Veterinary Record. 2004; 155(24): 774-777. PMID 16878486.
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