27 research outputs found
Bat rabies surveillance in Finland
Background: In 1985, a bat researcher in Finland died of rabies encephalitis caused by European bat lyssavirus type
2 (EBLV-2), but an epidemiological study in 1986 did not reveal EBLV-infected bats. In 2009, an EBLV-2-positive
Daubenton’s bat was detected. The EBLV-2 isolate from the human case in 1985 and the isolate from the bat in
2009 were genetically closely related. In order to assess the prevalence of EBLVs in Finnish bat populations and to
gain a better understanding of the public health risk that EBLV-infected bats pose, a targeted active surveillance
project was initiated.
Results: Altogether, 1156 bats of seven species were examined for lyssaviruses in Finland during a 28–year period
(1985–2012), 898 in active surveillance and 258 in passive surveillance, with only one positive finding of EBLV-2 in a
Daubenton’s bat in 2009. In 2010–2011, saliva samples from 774 bats of seven species were analyzed for EBLV viral
RNA, and sera from 423 bats were analyzed for the presence of bat lyssavirus antibodies. Antibodies were detected
in Daubenton’s bats in samples collected from two locations in 2010 and from one location in 2011. All seropositive
locations are in close proximity to the place where the EBLV-2 positive Daubenton’s bat was found in 2009. In
active surveillance, no EBLV viral RNA was detected.
Conclusions: These data suggest that EBLV-2 may circulate in Finland, even though the seroprevalence is low. Our
results indicate that passive surveillance of dead or sick bats is a relevant means examine the occurrence of
lyssavirus infection, but the number of bats submitted for laboratory analysis should be higher in order to obtain
reliable information on the lyssavirus situation in the country
Restriction Maps of the DNA of Cervid Herpesvirus 1 and Cervid Herpesvirus 2, Two Viruses Related to Bovine Herpesvirus 1
Restriction maps of cervid herpesviruses 1 and 2 which are antigenetically related to bovine herpesvirus 1, were deduced from Southern blot hybridization with HindIII restriction fragments of BHV-1 DNA as probes