Daubenton's Bat Tests Positive For European Bat Lyssavirus Type 2

Main Category: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 09 May 2008 - 13:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

On May 7 2008 a Daubenton's bat in the South East of England tested positive for the presence of European Bat Lyssavirus (EBLV), a strain of rabies virus found in bats across Northern Europe.

The strain is European Bat Lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) and is closely related to the six EBLV-2 viruses isolated previously in bats in Great Britain since 1996.

The adult female bat, which had been in captivity since August 2007, started behaving abnormally on April 27 2008 and its general condition deteriorated. It was euthanased on May 2 2008. As recommended, all licensed or voluntary bat handlers who had handled the animal during that time had been previously vaccinated against rabies.

As a routine procedure, the Health Protection Agency is undertaking a risk assessment for all individuals who had contact with the bat and is arranging for additional doses of post-exposure vaccine to be given to handlers of the bat, where necessary. Anybody who is potentially at risk from EBLV but given prompt protective treatment will not develop the infection.

There is no risk to the general public health from this infection. People are not at any risk from EBLV unless they have been exposed to the saliva or nervous tissue of an infected bat or have been scratched or bitten.

Advice remains that anyone finding a sick or ailing bat should not approach or handle it but seek advice from a conservation group or the Bat Conservation Trust Helpline on 0845 1300 228.

Background information

EBLV2 has previously been isolated from six UK bats in Sussex, Lancashire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, and Shropshire.

EBLV is a rabies-like virus, which infects insectivorous bats in Europe. It comes from the same family of viruses as rabies, but is a different strain from that which causes 'classical' rabies in dogs and many other domestic and wild animals.

It is very rare for EBLVs to cross the 'species barrier'. This means that even if bats are known to be carrying the virus within a country or region, it is rare for other animals to be infected.

Only four human cases have been reported in Europe since 1977, one in Finland, two in the former Soviet Union, and one in Scotland in 2002, despite over 700 cases in bats. All four were in individuals who had been in close contact with bats and had not received treatment after their exposure.

All people licensed to handle bats or who regularly handle bats in Great Britain should ensure that they have up to date rabies vaccination and should always wear protective gloves when handling bats.

For further information on European Bat Lyssavirus (EBLV) visit the Health Protection Agency website here.

Health Protection Agency