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To the Editor: Bats have been associated with a wide diversity of viruses, including lyssaviruses, which can cause rabies. Currently, 12 distinct species of lyssaviruses have been classified worldwide; 3 [...]

The genus Henipavirus in the family Paramyxoviridae contains 2 highly lethal viruses, Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV), both of which use pteropid bats as their main natural reservoir [...]

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease affecting hibernating bats in eastern North America that causes mass mortality and precipitous population declines in winter hibernacula. First discovered in 2006 in New York State, WNS is spreading rapidly across eastern North America and currently affects seven species. Mortality associated with WNS is causing a regional population collapse and is predicted to lead to regional extinction of the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus), previously one of the most common bat species in North America. Novel diseases can have serious impacts on naive wildlife populations, which in turn can have substantial impacts on ecosystem integrity. 10.1126/science.1188594

For RNA viruses, rapid viral evolution and the biological similarity of closely related host species have been proposed as key determinants of the occurrence and long-term outcome of cross-species transmission. Using a data set of hundreds of rabies viruses sampled from 23 North American bat species, we present a general framework to quantify per capita rates of cross-species transmission and reconstruct historical patterns of viral establishment in new host species using molecular sequence data. These estimates demonstrate diminishing frequencies of both cross-species transmission and host shifts with increasing phylogenetic distance between bat species. Evolutionary constraints on viral host range indicate that host species barriers may trump the intrinsic mutability of RNA viruses in determining the fate of emerging host-virus interactions. 10.1126/science.1188836

To the Editor: Bats are distributed worldwide and are among the most diverse and species-rich mammals on earth. They exist in a large variety of distinct ecologic niches. Many bat [...]

We recently identified 2 Mokola viruses from domestic mammals (a dog and a cat) in South Africa, These cases occurred 8 years after the last reported case of infection with [...]

The first human rabies case in Chile since 1972 occurred in March 1996 in a patient without history of known exposure. Antigenic and genetic characterization of the rabies isolate indicated [...]

A study is made to assess potential impacts on residual and migratory species, determine the causes of bird and bat fatalities and to develop methods for reducing risks to bird and bat population and their habitats.

Studies were conducted to provide information on the relative occurrence of rabies in bats, to evaluate seasonal and long-term trends in bat rabies levels in Indiana and to compare rabies rates in normally behaving bats to bats submitted by citizens. The highest rates of rabies were found in the hoary bat and eastern pipistrelle, while none of the normally behaving big brown bats examined from areas where rabid bats had occurred were rabid.

We evaluated seasonal dietary variation of the Indian pygmy bat, Pipistrellus mimus, from southern India, by collecting biweekly fecal samples from beneath a maternity roost for 1 year and comparing these samples with insects collected using a light trap on the same dates. Our analyses indicate that P. mimus fed on coleopterans (26.3% volume), dipterans (20.4%), homopterans (17.5%), lepidopterans (13.6%), formicids (10.5%), hemipterans (5.7%), and isopterans (5.1%) and thus are generalized feeders. One unidentified scarabaeid species made up much of the coleopteran material and was abundant in the diet of P. mimus from late April through late August. Formicid alates were consumed throughout the year but were especially important from late July through September. Isopteran alates were important in September and October. Relative proportions of insects that were eaten differed significantly from insects captured in a light trap. In other studies, investigators interpreted such differences as evidence of selection; however, we argue that most insect traps do not provide reliable data on availability and that bats may feed in other areas than where the insects are captured. Our results indicate that [is greater than or equal to] 20 fecal pellets are needed in any one sample to determine important dietary items eaten by this species, although this sampling protocol likely overlooks minor food items.

Among the vast pool of zoonotic viruses--those that can be transmitted from animals to humans--are the coronaviruses. These pathogens cause common colds and, rarely, more severe infections, and their entrances [...]

To the Editor: Filoviruses cause highly lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates, except for Reston Ebolavirus (REBOV), which causes severe hemorrhagic fever in macaques (1,2). REBOV epizootics among [...]

To the Editor: Rabies was officially declared eliminated in nonflying mammals in metropolitan France during 2001-2008 by the World Organisation for Animal Health; the last case of rabies was believed [...]

To the Editor: Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a new coronavirus that caused an epidemic of 8,096 cases of SARS and 774 deaths during 2002-2003 (1). Attempts are [...]

To the Editor: Tick-borne relapsing fever in western North America is a zoonosis caused by spirochetes in the genus Borrelia that are transmitted by argasid ticks of the genus Ornithodoros [...]

Bats have been implicated in the spread of the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus (MERS-CoV), which has killed 48 people since April 2012. On 21 August, researchers reported [...]

Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats' propensity to [...]