Nauwelaers Inne, Van den Eynde Claudia, Terryn Sanne, Vandendriessche Bob, Willems Wout, Dekeukeleire Daan, Van Gucht Steven
Viral Diseases Unit, Sciensano, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
Natuurpunt Studie, Vleermuizenwerkgroep, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2024 Jul 5;9(7):151. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed9070151.
Lyssaviruses are neurotropic viruses capable of inducing fatal encephalitis. While rabies virus has been successfully eradicated in Belgium, the prevalence of other lyssaviruses remains uncertain. In this study, we conducted a survey on live animals and passive surveillance to investigate the presence of lyssaviruses in Belgium. In 2018, a total of 113 saliva samples and 87 blood samples were collected from bats. Saliva was subjected to RT-qPCR to identify lyssavirus infections. Additionally, an adapted lyssavirus neutralisation assay was set up for the detection of antibodies neutralising EBLV-1 in blood samples. Furthermore, we examined 124 brain tissue samples obtained from deceased bats during passive surveillance between 2016 and 2018. All saliva samples tested negative for lyssaviruses. Analysis of the blood samples uncovered the presence of lyssavirus-neutralising antibodies in five bat species and 32% of samples with a wide range depending on bat species, suggesting past exposure to a lyssavirus. Notably, EBLV-1 was detected in brain tissue samples from two specimens collected in 2016 near Bertrix and 2017 near Étalle, confirming for the first time the presence of EBLV-1 in Belgium and raising awareness of the potential risks associated with this species of bats as reservoirs of the virus.
狂犬病毒属是嗜神经性病毒，能够引发致命性脑炎。尽管狂犬病病毒在比利时已被成功根除，但其他狂犬病毒属病毒的流行情况仍不明朗。在本研究中，我们对活体动物进行了调查并开展了被动监测，以探究比利时狂犬病毒属病毒的存在情况。2018年，共从蝙蝠身上采集了113份唾液样本和87份血液样本。对唾液进行逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）以鉴定狂犬病毒属病毒感染情况。此外，还建立了一种改良的狂犬病毒中和试验，用于检测血液样本中中和欧洲蝙蝠狂犬病毒1型（EBLV-1）的抗体。此外，我们检查了在2016年至2018年被动监测期间从死亡蝙蝠身上获取的124份脑组织样本。所有唾液样本的狂犬病毒检测均为阴性。对血液样本的分析发现，在五种蝙蝠物种中存在狂犬病毒中和抗体，且根据蝙蝠物种不同，32%的样本中抗体含量差异很大，这表明蝙蝠过去曾接触过狂犬病毒属病毒。值得注意的是，在2016年于贝特里克斯附近以及2017年于埃塔勒附近采集的两份样本的脑组织中检测到了EBLV-1，首次证实了比利时存在EBLV-1，并提高了人们对与这种蝙蝠作为病毒宿主相关潜在风险的认识。
