Serum Neutralization Profiles of Straw-Colored Fruit Bats (<i>Eidolon helvum</i>) in Makurdi (Nigeria), against Four Lineages of Lagos Bat Lyssavirus
Veronica Odinya Ameh,
Guanghui Wu,
Hooman Goharriz,
Rebecca Shipley,
Anthony R. Fooks,
Claude T. Sabeta,
Lorraine M. McElhinney
Affiliations
Veronica Odinya Ameh
Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, P.M.B., Makurdi 2373, Benue State, Nigeria
Guanghui Wu
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Rabies Reference Laboratory, Viral Zoonoses Group, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK
Hooman Goharriz
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Rabies Reference Laboratory, Viral Zoonoses Group, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK
Rebecca Shipley
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Rabies Reference Laboratory, Viral Zoonoses Group, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK
Anthony R. Fooks
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Rabies Reference Laboratory, Viral Zoonoses Group, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK
Claude T. Sabeta
Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, P Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
Lorraine M. McElhinney
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Rabies Reference Laboratory, Viral Zoonoses Group, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK
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 (Eidolon helvum) in Makurdi, Nigeria. Serum samples (n = 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%, n = 100) neutralized multiple LBV lineages while the remaining 25% (n = 33) neutralized only a single lineage, i.e., LBV-A (n = 23), LBV-D (n = 8) and LBV-C (n = 2). None exclusively neutralized LBV-B. The results suggest that exposure to LBV is common in E. helvum and that LBV-A (but not LBV-B) is likely to be circulating in this region of Nigeria.
