URSID γ-HERPESVIRUS TYPE 1-RELATED VIRUS IN CAPTIVE BORNEAN SUN BEARS (HELARCTOS MALAYANUS EURYSPILUS) IN SABAH, MALAYSIA.

The Bornean sun bear (Helarctos malayanus euryspilus) is the smallest subspecies of sun bear. Their numbers are declining, and more research is needed to better understand their health and biology. Forty-four bears housed at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) in Sabah, Malaysia, were screened for known and novel viruses in November 2018. Ursid γ-herpesvirus type 1 (UrHV-1) is a herpesvirus that has been detected from swab samples of clinically healthy sun bears and biopsy samples of oral squamous cell carcinoma in sun bears. We detected an UrHV-1-related virus from throat and rectal swabs by molecular viral screening in samples from 15.9% of the sun bears at BSBCC. None of the bears with the UrHV-1-related virus in this study had oral lesions. There is no known report of UrHV-1 detection in the wild sun bear population, and its association with oral squamous cell carcinoma is not fully understood. Finding an UrHV-1-related virus in a rehabilitation center is a concern because conditions in captivity may contribute to spreading this virus, and there is the potential of introducing it into wild populations when a bear is released. This study demonstrates an urgent need to carry out similar surveillance for sun bears in captivity as well as those in the wild, to better understand the impact of captivity on the prevalence and spread of UrHV-1-related viruses. Positive bears also should be monitored for oral lesions to better understand whether there is a causal relationship.

Seroprevalence of Pteropine orthoreovirus in humans remain similar after nearly two decades (2001-2002 vs. 2017) in Tioman Island, Malaysia.

Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV) is an emerging zoonotic respiratory virus that can be transmitted from bats to humans. In Malaysia, aside from PRV2P (Pulau virus) being isolated from Pteropus hypomelanus sampled in Tioman Island, PRV3M (Melaka virus), PRV4K (Kampar virus), and PRV7S (Sikamat virus) were all isolated from samples of patients who reported having a disease spectrum from acute respiratory distress to influenza-like illness and sometimes even with enteric symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain. Screening of sera collected from human volunteers on Tioman Island in 2001-2002 demonstrated that 12.8% (14/109) were positive for PRV2P and PRV3M. Taking all these together, we aim to investigate the serological prevalence of PRV (including PRV4K and PRV7S) among Tioman Island inhabitants again with the assumption that the seroprevalence rate will remain nearly similar to the above reported if human exposure to bats is still happening in the island. Using sera collected from human volunteers on the same island in 2017, we demonstrated seroprevalence of 17.8% (28/157) against PRV2P and PRV3M, respectively. Seropositivity of 11.4% among Tioman Island inhabitants against PRV4K and PRV7S, respectively, was described in this study. In addition, the seroprevalence of 89.5% (17/19), 73.6% (14/19), 63.0% (12/19), and 73.6% (14/19) against PRV2P, PRV3M, PRV4K, and PRV7S, respectively, were observed among pteropid bats in the island. We revealed that the seroprevalence of PRV among island inhabitants remains nearly similar after nearly two decades, suggesting that potential spill-over events in bat-human interface areas in the Tioman Island. We are unclear whether such spillover was directly from bats to humans, as suspected for the PRV3M human cases, or from an intermediate host(s) yet to be identified. There is a high possibility of the viruses circulating among the bats as demonstrated by high seroprevalence against PRV in the bats.