Surveillance of Nipah virus in Pteropus medius of Kerala state, India, 2023.

Introduction: Since 2018, the Indian state of Kerala has reported four Nipah virus (NiV) disease outbreaks, raising concerns about NiV spillover from bats to the human population. Considering this, a cross-sectional study was undertaken in the Pteropus medius bat population around the Nipah virus-affected regions of Kozhikode, Kerala, India, during February, July, and September 2023. Methods: Throat swabs, rectal swabs, and organ samples were collected from bats to test for NiV using the real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), while serum samples were screened for anti-Nipah IgG antibodies through ELISA. Results: An overall seroprevalence of 20.9% was observed in 272 P. medius bats tested. The throat and rectal swab samples of 321 bats were negative for NiV RNA. However, 4 of 44 P. medius bats tested positive for NiV in their liver/spleen samples. The partial N gene retrieved showed more than 99% similarity with the earlier reported NiV genome from Kerala state, India. Discussion: The findings of the study caution that there is a spillover risk in the region and necessary precautions should be taken.

Home ranges, directionality and the influence of moon phases on the movement ecology of Indian flying fox males in southern India.

Flying foxes of the genus Pteropus are amongst the largest fruit bats and potential long-range pollinators and seed dispersers in the paleotropics. Pteropus giganteus (currently P. medius) is the only flying fox that is distributed throughout the Indian mainland, including in urban and rural areas. Using GPS telemetry, we mapped the home ranges and examined flight patterns in P. giganteus males across moon phases in a semi-urban landscape in southern India. Home range differed between the tracked males (n=4), likely due to differences in their experience in the landscape. We found that nightly time spent outside the roost, distance commuted and the number of sites visited by tracked individuals did not differ significantly between moon phases. In 61% of total tracked nights across bats, the first foraging site was within 45˚ of the emergence direction. At the colony-level, scan-based observations showed emergence flights were mostly in the northeast (27%), west (22%) and southwest (19%) directions that could potentially be related to the distribution of foraging resources. The movement ecology of fruit bats in relation to the pollination and seed dispersal services they provide requires to be investigated in future studies. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

Nipah Virus Exposure in Domestic and Peridomestic Animals Living in Human Outbreak Sites, Bangladesh, 2013-2015.

Spillovers of Nipah virus (NiV) from Pteropus bats to humans occurs frequently in Bangladesh, but the risk for spillover into other animals is poorly understood. We detected NiV antibodies in cattle, dogs, and cats from 6 sites where spillover human NiV infection cases occurred during 2013-2015.

Nipah Virus Outbreak in Kerala State, India Amidst of COVID-19 Pandemic.

We report here a Nipah virus (NiV) outbreak in Kozhikode district of Kerala state, India, which had caused fatal encephalitis in a 12-year-old boy and the outbreak response, which led to the successful containment of the disease and the related investigations. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, ELISA-based antibody detection, and whole genome sequencing (WGS) were performed to confirm the NiV infection. Contacts of the index case were traced and isolated based on risk categorization. Bats from the areas near the epicenter of the outbreak were sampled for throat swabs, rectal swabs, and blood samples for NiV screening by real-time RT-PCR and anti-NiV bat immunoglobulin G (IgG) ELISA. A plaque reduction neutralization test was performed for the detection of neutralizing antibodies. Nipah viral RNA could be detected from blood, bronchial wash, endotracheal (ET) secretion, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and anti-NiV immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies from the serum sample of the index case. Rapid establishment of an onsite NiV diagnostic facility and contact tracing helped in quick containment of the outbreak. NiV sequences retrieved from the clinical specimen of the index case formed a sub-cluster with the earlier reported Nipah I genotype sequences from India with more than 95% similarity. Anti-NiV IgG positivity could be detected in 21% of Pteropus medius (P. medius) and 37.73% of Rousettus leschenaultia (R. leschenaultia). Neutralizing antibodies against NiV could be detected in P. medius. Stringent surveillance and awareness campaigns need to be implemented in the area to reduce human-bat interactions and minimize spillover events, which can lead to sporadic outbreaks of NiV.

Roosting ecology and morphometric analysis of Pteropus medius (Indian flying fox) in Lower Dir, district, Pakistan / Ecologia de roosting e análise morfométrica de Pteropus medius (raposa-voadora indiana) no distrito de Lower Dir, Paquistão

Abstract The present study was conducted to explore morphometric variations of Pteropus medius (the Indian flying fox) and the roosting trees in Lower Dir, Pakistan. The bats were captured from Morus alba, Morus nigra, Brousonetia papyrifera, Pinus raxburghii, Hevea brasiliensis, Platanus orientalis, Populous nigra, Melia azedarach, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Grevillea robusta through sling shot and mess net methods. A total of 12 bats were studied for the differential morphological features based on age and sex. Male bats were recorded higher in weight than females. The variations were found in body mass (821.1±34.65gm), circumference of body with wings (25.43±0.39cm), wingspan (112.58±1.90cm), Body length (20.73±0.68cm), Snout length (3.42±0.04cm), Eye length (1.45±0.033cm), Length of ear (3.56±0.05cm), Width of ear (2.46±0.04cm), Length b/w ear (5.51±0.11cm), Circumference of neck (12.23±0.24cm), Circumference of body without wings (18.68±0.31cm), Arm wing length (23.2±1.03cm), Length of thumb (5.43±0.1cm), Length of nail (1.89±0.05cm), Hand wing length (29.1±0.51cm), Maximum width of wing (21.03±0.68cm), Length b/w tip of wing to 5th digit (29.39±0.30cm), Length b/w 5th digit to foot (22.97±1.09cm), Length b/w feet (18.31±0.74cm) and Length of foot claw (4.23±0.05cm). This study was designed for analysis of external morphological variations for P. medius (the Indian flying fox) that may help in identification of these bats and their roosting sites.

Resumo O presente estudo foi conduzido com o intuito de explorar variações morfométricas de Pteropus medius (raposa-voadora indiana) e árvores de repouso em Lower Dir, Paquistão. Os morcegos foram capturados de Morus alba, Morus nigra, Broussonetia papyrifera, Pinus roxburghii, Hevea brasiliensis, Platanus orientalis, Populus nigra, Melia azedarach, Eucalyptus camaldulensis e Grevillea robusta por meio de estilingues e redes. Doze morcegos foram estudados quanto às características morfológicas diferenciais com base na idade e no sexo. Os morcegos machos apresentaram maior peso do que as fêmeas. As variações foram encontradas em massa corporal (821,1 ± 34,65 g), circunferência do corpo com asas (25,43 ± 0,39 cm), envergadura (112,58 ± 1,90 cm), comprimento do corpo (20,73 ± 0,68 cm), comprimento do focinho (3,42 ± 0,04 cm), comprimento do olho (1,45 ± 0,033 cm), comprimento da orelha (3,56 ± 0,05 cm), largura da orelha (2,46 ± 0,04 cm), comprimento entre as orelhas (5,51 ± 0,11 cm), circunferência do pescoço (12,23 ± 0,24 cm), circunferência do corpo sem asas (18,68 ± 0,31 cm), comprimento da asa da pata dianteira (23,2 ± 1,03 cm), comprimento do polegar (5,43 ± 0,1 cm), comprimento da unha (1,89 ± 0,05 cm), comprimento da asa até a ponta do dedo (29,1 ± 0,51 cm), largura máxima da asa (21,03 ± 0,68 cm), comprimento entre a ponta da asa e o quinto dedo (29,39 ± 0,30 cm), comprimento entre o quinto dedo e a pata (22,97 ± 1,09 cm), comprimento entre as patas (18,31 ± 0,74 cm) e comprimento da garra da pata (4,23 ± 0,05 cm). Este estudo foi desenvolvido para análise de variações morfológicas externas de P. medius (raposa-voadora indiana) e pode auxiliar na identificação desses morcegos e seus locais de nidificação.

Epidemiology and Molecular Characterization of Rotavirus A in Fruit Bats in Bangladesh.

Rotavirus A (RVA) is the primary cause of acute dehydrating diarrhea in human and numerous animal species. Animal-to-human interspecies transmission is one of the evolutionary mechanisms driving rotavirus strain diversity in humans. We screened fresh feces from 416 bats (201 Pteropus medius, 165 Rousettus leschenaultii and 50 Taphozous melanopogon) for RVA using rRT-PCR. We detected a prevalence of 7% (95% CI 3.5-10.8) and 2% (95% CI 0.4-5.2) in P. medius and R. leschenaultii, respectively. We did not detect RVA in the insectivorous bat (T. melanopogon). We identified RVA strains similar to the human strains of G1 and G8 based on sequence-based genotyping, which underscores the importance of including wildlife species in surveillance for zoonotic pathogens to understand pathogen transmission and evolution better.

Sequencing the Genome of Indian Flying Fox, Natural Reservoir of Nipah Virus, Using Hybrid Assembly and Conservative Secondary Scaffolding.

Indian fruit bats, flying fox Pteropus medius was identified as an asymptomatic natural host of recently emerged Nipah virus, which is known to induce a severe infectious disease in humans. The absence of P. medius genome sequence presents an important obstacle for further studies of virus-host interactions and better understanding of mechanisms of zoonotic viral emergence. Generation of the high-quality genome sequence is often linked to a considerable effort associated to elevated costs. Although secondary scaffolding methods have reduced sequencing expenses, they imply the development of new tools for the integration of different data sources to achieve more reliable sequencing results. We initially sequenced the P. medius genome using the combination of Illumina paired-end and Nanopore sequencing, with a depth of 57.4x and 6.1x, respectively. Then, we introduced the novel scaff2link software to integrate multiple sources of information for secondary scaffolding, allowing to remove the association with discordant information among two sources. Different quality metrics were next produced to validate the benefits from secondary scaffolding. The P. medius genome, assembled by this method, has a length of 1,985 Mb and consists of 33,613 contigs and 16,113 scaffolds with an NG50 of 19 Mb. At least 22.5% of the assembled sequences is covered by interspersed repeats already described in other species and 19,823 coding genes are annotated. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the clustering of P. medius genome with two other Pteropus bat species, P. alecto and P. vampyrus, for which genome sequences are currently available. SARS-CoV entry receptor ACE2 sequence of P. medius was 82.7% identical with ACE2 of Rhinolophus sinicus bats, thought to be the natural host of SARS-CoV. Altogether, our results confirm that a lower depth of sequencing is enough to obtain a valuable genome sequence, using secondary scaffolding approaches and demonstrate the benefits of the scaff2link application. The genome sequence is now available to the scientific community to (i) proceed with further genomic analysis of P. medius, (ii) to characterize the underlying mechanism allowing Nipah virus maintenance and perpetuation in its bat host, and (iii) to monitor their evolutionary pathways toward a better understanding of bats' ability to control viral infections.

Nipah Virus Sequences from Humans and Bats during Nipah Outbreak, Kerala, India, 2018.

We retrieved Nipah virus (NiV) sequences from 4 human and 3 fruit bat (Pteropus medius) samples from a 2018 outbreak in Kerala, India. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that NiV from humans was 96.15% similar to a Bangladesh strain but 99.7%-100% similar to virus from Pteropus spp. bats, indicating bats were the source of the outbreak.

Isolation and Full-Genome Characterization of Nipah Viruses from Bats, Bangladesh.

Despite molecular and serologic evidence of Nipah virus in bats from various locations, attempts to isolate live virus have been largely unsuccessful. We report isolation and full-genome characterization of 10 Nipah virus isolates from Pteropus medius bats sampled in Bangladesh during 2013 and 2014.

Roosting ecology and morphometric analysis of Pteropus medius (Indian flying fox) in Lower Dir, district, Pakistan

Abstract The present study was conducted to explore morphometric variations of Pteropus medius (the Indian flying fox) and the roosting trees in Lower Dir, Pakistan. The bats were captured from Morus alba, Morus nigra, Brousonetia papyrifera, Pinus raxburghii, Hevea brasiliensis, Platanus orientalis, Populous nigra, Melia azedarach, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Grevillea robusta through sling shot and mess net methods. A total of 12 bats were studied for the differential morphological features based on age and sex. Male bats were recorded higher in weight than females. The variations were found in body mass (821.1±34.65gm), circumference of body with wings (25.43±0.39cm), wingspan (112.58±1.90cm), Body length (20.73±0.68cm), Snout length (3.42±0.04cm), Eye length (1.45±0.033cm), Length of ear (3.56±0.05cm), Width of ear (2.46±0.04cm), Length b/w ear (5.51±0.11cm), Circumference of neck (12.23±0.24cm), Circumference of body without wings (18.68±0.31cm), Arm wing length (23.2±1.03cm), Length of thumb (5.43±0.1cm), Length of nail (1.89±0.05cm), Hand wing length (29.1±0.51cm), Maximum width of wing (21.03±0.68cm), Length b/w tip of wing to 5th digit (29.39±0.30cm), Length b/w 5th digit to foot (22.97±1.09cm), Length b/w feet (18.31±0.74cm) and Length of foot claw (4.23±0.05cm). This study was designed for analysis of external morphological variations for P. medius (the Indian flying fox) that may help in identification of these bats and their roosting sites.

Resumo O presente estudo foi conduzido com o intuito de explorar variações morfométricas de Pteropus medius (raposa-voadora indiana) e árvores de repouso em Lower Dir, Paquistão. Os morcegos foram capturados de Morus alba, Morus nigra, Broussonetia papyrifera, Pinus roxburghii, Hevea brasiliensis, Platanus orientalis, Populus nigra, Melia azedarach, Eucalyptus camaldulensis e Grevillea robusta por meio de estilingues e redes. Doze morcegos foram estudados quanto às características morfológicas diferenciais com base na idade e no sexo. Os morcegos machos apresentaram maior peso do que as fêmeas. As variações foram encontradas em massa corporal (821,1 ± 34,65 g), circunferência do corpo com asas (25,43 ± 0,39 cm), envergadura (112,58 ± 1,90 cm), comprimento do corpo (20,73 ± 0,68 cm), comprimento do focinho (3,42 ± 0,04 cm), comprimento do olho (1,45 ± 0,033 cm), comprimento da orelha (3,56 ± 0,05 cm), largura da orelha (2,46 ± 0,04 cm), comprimento entre as orelhas (5,51 ± 0,11 cm), circunferência do pescoço (12,23 ± 0,24 cm), circunferência do corpo sem asas (18,68 ± 0,31 cm), comprimento da asa da pata dianteira (23,2 ± 1,03 cm), comprimento do polegar (5,43 ± 0,1 cm), comprimento da unha (1,89 ± 0,05 cm), comprimento da asa até a ponta do dedo (29,1 ± 0,51 cm), largura máxima da asa (21,03 ± 0,68 cm), comprimento entre a ponta da asa e o quinto dedo (29,39 ± 0,30 cm), comprimento entre o quinto dedo e a pata (22,97 ± 1,09 cm), comprimento entre as patas (18,31 ± 0,74 cm) e comprimento da garra da pata (4,23 ± 0,05 cm). Este estudo foi desenvolvido para análise de variações morfológicas externas de P. medius (raposa-voadora indiana) e pode auxiliar na identificação desses morcegos e seus locais de nidificação.

Lyssavirus in Indian Flying Foxes, Sri Lanka.

A novel lyssavirus was isolated from brains of Indian flying foxes (Pteropus medius) in Sri Lanka. Phylogenetic analysis of complete virus genome sequences, and geographic location and host species, provides strong evidence that this virus is a putative new lyssavirus species, designated as Gannoruwa bat lyssavirus.