Viral Diversity, Prey Preference, and Bartonella Prevalence in Desmodus rotundus in Guatemala

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• 作者：Amy K. Wray ; Kevin J. Olival ; David Morán ; Maria Renee Lopez ; Danilo Alvarez…
• 关键词：bats ; Chiroptera ; Bartonella ; pathogen discovery ; disease ecology ; feeding preference ; adenovirus ; herpesvirus ; rhabdovirus ; viral
• 刊名：EcoHealth
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：December 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：13
• 期：4
• 页码：761-774
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Earth and Environmental Science
• 刊物主题：Public Health; Environmental Health; Ecosystems; Microbiology; Animal Ecology; Water and Health;
• 出版者：Springer US
• ISSN：1612-9210
• 卷排序：13

文摘

Certain bat species serve as natural reservoirs for pathogens in several key viral families including henipa-, lyssa-, corona-, and filoviruses, which may pose serious threats to human health. The Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus), due to its abundance, sanguivorous feeding habit involving humans and domestic animals, and highly social behavioral ecology, may have an unusually high potential for interspecies disease transmission. Previous studies have investigated rabies dynamics in D. rotundus, yet the diversity of other viruses, bacteria, and other microbes that these bats may carry remains largely unknown. We screened 396 blood, urine, saliva, and fecal samples from D. rotundus captured in Guatemala for 13 viral families and genera. Positive results were found for rhabdovirus, adenovirus, and herpesvirus assays. We also screened these samples for Bartonella spp. and found that 38% of individuals tested positive. To characterize potential for interspecies transmission associated with feeding behavior, we also analyzed cytochrome B sequences from fecal samples to identify prey species and found that domestic cattle (Bos taurus) made up the majority of blood meals. Our findings suggest that the risk of pathogen spillover from Desmodus rotundus, including between domestic animal species, is possible and warrants further investigation to characterize this microbial diversity and expand our understanding of foraging ecology in their populations.