Human betacoronavirus 2c EMC/2012-related viruses in bats, Ghana and Europe.

We screened fecal specimens of 4,758 bats from Ghana and 272 bats from 4 European countries for betacoronaviruses. Viruses related to the novel human betacoronavirus EMC/2012 were detected in 46 (24.9%) of 185 Nycteris bats and 40 (14.7%) of 272 Pipistrellus bats. Their genetic relatedness indicated EMC/2012 originated from bats.

Amplification of emerging viruses in a bat colony.

Bats host noteworthy viral pathogens, including coronaviruses, astroviruses, and adenoviruses. Knowledge on the ecology of reservoir-borne viruses is critical for preventive approaches against zoonotic epidemics. We studied a maternity colony of Myotis myotis bats in the attic of a private house in a suburban neighborhood in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, during 2008, 2009, and 2010. One coronavirus, 6 astroviruses, and 1 novel adenovirus were identified and monitored quantitatively. Strong and specific amplification of RNA viruses, but not of DNA viruses, occurred during colony formation and after parturition. The breeding success of the colony was significantly better in 2010 than in 2008, in spite of stronger amplification of coronaviruses and astroviruses in 2010, suggesting that these viruses had little pathogenic influence on bats. However, the general correlation of virus and bat population dynamics suggests that bats control infections similar to other mammals and that they may well experience epidemics of viruses under certain circumstances.

Genomic characterization of severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus in European bats and classification of coronaviruses based on partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene sequences.

Bats may host emerging viruses, including coronaviruses (CoV). We conducted an evaluation of CoV in rhinolophid and vespertilionid bat species common in Europe. Rhinolophids carried severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related CoV at high frequencies and concentrations (26% of animals are positive; up to 2.4×10(8) copies per gram of feces), as well as two Alphacoronavirus clades, one novel and one related to the HKU2 clade. All three clades present in Miniopterus bats in China (HKU7, HKU8, and 1A related) were also present in European Miniopterus bats. An additional novel Alphacoronavirus clade (bat CoV [BtCoV]/BNM98-30) was detected in Nyctalus leisleri. A CoV grouping criterion was developed by comparing amino acid identities across an 816-bp fragment of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRp) of all accepted mammalian CoV species (RdRp-based grouping units [RGU]). Criteria for defining separate RGU in mammalian CoV were a >4.8% amino acid distance for alphacoronaviruses and a >6.3% distance for betacoronaviruses. All the above-mentioned novel clades represented independent RGU. Strict associations between CoV RGU and host bat genera were confirmed for six independent RGU represented simultaneously in China and Europe. A SARS-related virus (BtCoV/BM48-31/Bulgaria/2008) from a Rhinolophus blasii (Rhi bla) bat was fully sequenced. It is predicted that proteins 3b and 6 were highly divergent from those proteins in all known SARS-related CoV. Open reading frame 8 (ORF8) was surprisingly absent. Surface expression of spike and staining with sera of SARS survivors suggested low antigenic overlap with SARS CoV. However, the receptor binding domain of SARS CoV showed higher similarity with that of BtCoV/BM48-31/Bulgaria/2008 than with that of any Chinese bat-borne CoV. Critical spike domains 472 and 487 were identical and similar, respectively. This study underlines the importance of assessments of the zoonotic potential of widely distributed bat-borne CoV.

Distant relatives of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and close relatives of human coronavirus 229E in bats, Ghana.

We tested 12 bat species in Ghana for coronavirus (CoV) RNA. The virus prevalence in insectivorous bats (n = 123) was 9.76%. CoV was not detected in 212 fecal samples from Eidolon helvum fruit bats. Leaf-nosed bats pertaining to Hipposideros ruber by morphology had group 1 and group 2 CoVs. Virus concentrations were < or =45,000 copies/100 mg of bat feces. The diversified group 1 CoV shared a common ancestor with the human common cold virus hCoV-229E but not with hCoV-NL63, disputing hypotheses of common human descent. The most recent common ancestor of hCoV-229E and GhanaBt-CoVGrp1 existed in approximately 1686-1800 ad. The GhanaBt-CoVGrp2 shared an old ancestor (approximately 2,400 years) with the severe acute respiratory syndrome-like group of CoV.

Detection and prevalence patterns of group I coronaviruses in bats, northern Germany.

We tested 315 bats from 7 different bat species in northern Germany for coronaviruses by reverse transcription-PCR. The overall prevalence was 9.8%. There were 4 lineages of group I coronaviruses in association with 4 different species of verspertilionid bats (Myotis dasycneme, M. daubentonii, Pipistrellus nathusii, P. pygmaeus). The lineages formed a monophyletic clade of bat coronaviruses found in northern Germany. The clade of bat coronaviruses have a sister relationship with a clade of Chinese type I coronaviruses that were also associated with the Myotis genus (M. ricketti). Young age and ongoing lactation, but not sex or existing gravidity, correlated significantly with coronavirus detection. The virus is probably maintained on the population level by amplification and transmission in maternity colonies, rather than being maintained in individual bats.

Bats host major mammalian paramyxoviruses.

The large virus family Paramyxoviridae includes some of the most significant human and livestock viruses, such as measles-, distemper-, mumps-, parainfluenza-, Newcastle disease-, respiratory syncytial virus and metapneumoviruses. Here we identify an estimated 66 new paramyxoviruses in a worldwide sample of 119 bat and rodent species (9,278 individuals). Major discoveries include evidence of an origin of Hendra- and Nipah virus in Africa, identification of a bat virus conspecific with the human mumps virus, detection of close relatives of respiratory syncytial virus, mouse pneumonia- and canine distemper virus in bats, as well as direct evidence of Sendai virus in rodents. Phylogenetic reconstruction of host associations suggests a predominance of host switches from bats to other mammals and birds. Hypothesis tests in a maximum likelihood framework permit the phylogenetic placement of bats as tentative hosts at ancestral nodes to both the major Paramyxoviridae subfamilies (Paramyxovirinae and Pneumovirinae). Future attempts to predict the emergence of novel paramyxoviruses in humans and livestock will have to rely fundamentally on these data.

Henipavirus RNA in African bats.

BACKGROUND: Henipaviruses (Hendra and Nipah virus) are highly pathogenic members of the family Paramyxoviridae. Fruit-eating bats of the Pteropus genus have been suggested as their natural reservoir. Human Henipavirus infections have been reported in a region extending from Australia via Malaysia into Bangladesh, compatible with the geographic range of Pteropus. These bats do not occur in continental Africa, but a whole range of other fruit bats is encountered. One of the most abundant is Eidolon helvum, the African Straw-coloured fruit bat. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Feces from E. helvum roosting in an urban setting in Kumasi/Ghana were tested for Henipavirus RNA. Sequences of three novel viruses in phylogenetic relationship to known Henipaviruses were detected. Virus RNA concentrations in feces were low. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The finding of novel putative Henipaviruses outside Australia and Asia contributes a significant extension of the region of potential endemicity of one of the most pathogenic virus genera known in humans.