Serum Neutralization Profiles of Straw-Colored Fruit Bats (<i>Eidolon helvum</i>) in Makurdi (Nigeria), against Four Lineages of Lagos Bat Lyssavirus


Ameh, Veronica Odinya, Wu, Guanghui, Goharriz, Hooman, Shipley, Rebecca, Fooks, Anthony R, Sabeta, Claude T and McElhinney, Lorraine M ORCID: 0000-0002-6022-348X (2021) Serum Neutralization Profiles of Straw-Colored Fruit Bats (<i>Eidolon helvum</i>) in Makurdi (Nigeria), against Four Lineages of Lagos Bat Lyssavirus. VIRUSES-BASEL, 13 (12). 2378-.

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Abstract

Lagos bat lyssavirus (LBV) comprising four lineages (A, B, C and D) can potentially cause the fatal disease rabies. Although LBV-B was initially isolated in Nigeria in 1956, there is no information on LBV lineages circulating in Nigeria. This study was undertaken for the first time to measure the neutralizing antibodies against four lineages of LBVs in straw-colored fruit bats (<i>Eidolon helvum</i>) in Makurdi, Nigeria. Serum samples (<i>n</i> = 180) collected during two periods (November 2017-March 2018 and November 2018-March 2019) from terminally bled bats captured for human consumption were tested using a modified fluorescent antibody virus neutralization (mFAVN) assay. A high proportion of bat sera (74%) neutralized at least one lineage of LBV (with reciprocal titers from 9 to >420.89) and most of them neutralized LBV-A (63%), followed by LBV-D (49%), LBV-C (45%) and LBV-B (24%). The majority of positive sera (75%, <i>n</i> = 100) neutralized multiple LBV lineages while the remaining 25% (<i>n</i> = 33) neutralized only a single lineage, i.e., LBV-A (<i>n</i> = 23), LBV-D (<i>n</i> = 8) and LBV-C (<i>n</i> = 2). None exclusively neutralized LBV-B. The results suggest that exposure to LBV is common in <i>E. helvum</i> and that LBV-A (but not LBV-B) is likely to be circulating in this region of Nigeria.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: bats, lyssavirus, Lagos bat virus, Eidolon helvum, serology
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 08 Feb 2022 09:47
Last Modified: 06 Feb 2024 18:49
DOI: 10.3390/v13122378
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3148489
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