Theimer Tad C, Dyer Annie C, Keeley Brian W, Gilbert Amy T, Bergman David L
1 Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, NAU Box 5640, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA.
2 National Wildlife Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA.
J Wildl Dis. 2017 Apr;53(2):382-385. doi: 10.7589/2016-09-203. Epub 2017 Jan 17.
Multiple species of bats are reservoirs of rabies virus in the Americas and are occasionally the source of spillover infections into mesocarnivore species. Although rabies transmission generally is assumed to occur via bite, laboratory studies have demonstrated the potential for rabies transmission via ingestion of rabid animals. We investigated the ecological potential for this mode of transmission by assessing mesocarnivore scavenging behavior of dead bats in suburban habitats of Flagstaff, Arizona, US. In autumn 2013, summer 2014, and autumn 2015, we placed 104 rabies-negative bat carcasses either near buildings, in wildland areas, or in residential yards and then monitored them with trail cameras for 5 d. Overall, 52 (50%) bat carcasses were scavenged, with 39 (75%) of those scavenged by striped skunks ( Mephitis mephitis ). Within our study area, striped skunks had a higher ecological potential to contract rabies via ingestion of bat carcasses compared to other mesocarnivore species, due both to a greater number of encounters and a higher probability of ingestion per encounter (91%), and they were significantly more likely to approach bat carcasses in yards than in wildland areas. Raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) and gray foxes ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) had fewer encounters (nine and 13, respectively) and lower probability of ingesting bats (33% and 8%, respectively).
在美洲，多种蝙蝠是狂犬病病毒的宿主，偶尔也是导致狂犬病溢出感染到中食肉动物物种的源头。尽管一般认为狂犬病是通过咬伤传播的，但实验室研究已证明存在通过摄食染病动物而传播狂犬病的可能性。我们通过评估美国亚利桑那州弗拉格斯塔夫郊区栖息地中食肉动物对死蝙蝠的 scavenging行为，来调查这种传播方式的生态可能性。在2013年秋季、2014年夏季和2015年秋季，我们将104具狂犬病检测呈阴性的蝙蝠尸体放置在建筑物附近、荒野地区或住宅庭院中，然后用追踪相机对它们进行了5天的监测。总体而言，52具（50%）蝙蝠尸体被 scavenged，其中39具（75%）被条纹臭鼬（Mephitis mephitis） scavenged。在我们的研究区域内，与其他中食肉动物物种相比，条纹臭鼬通过摄食蝙蝠尸体感染狂犬病的生态可能性更高，这既是因为相遇次数更多，也是因为每次相遇时摄食的概率更高（91%），而且它们在庭院中比在荒野地区更有可能接近蝙蝠尸体。浣熊（Procyon lotor）和灰狐（Urocyon cinereoargenteus）的相遇次数较少（分别为9次和13次），摄食蝙蝠的概率也较低（分别为33%和8%）。
