Egyptian fruit bats (rousettus aegyptiacus) were resistant to experimental inoculation with avian-origin influenza a virus of subtype H9N2, but are susceptible to experimental infection with bat-borne H9N2 virus

Abstract: Influenza A viruses (IAV) of subtype H9N2, endemic in world-wide poultry holdings, are reported to cause spill-over infections to pigs and humans and have also contributed substantially to recent reassortment-derived pre-pandemic zoonotic viruses of concern, such as the Asian H7N9 viruses. Recently, a H9N2 bat influenza A virus was found in Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus), raising the question of whether this bat species is a suitable host for IAV. Here, we studied the susceptibility, pathogenesis and transmission of avian and bat-related H9N2 viruses in this new host. In a first experiment, we oronasally inoculated six Egyptian fruit bats with an avian-related H9N2 virus (A/layer chicken/Bangladesh/VP02-plaque/2016 (H9N2)). In a second experiment, six Egyptian fruit bats were inoculated with the newly discovered bat-related H9N2 virus (A/bat/Egypt/381OP/2017 (H9N2)). While R. aegyptiacus turned out to be refractory to an infection with H9N2 avian-type, inoculation with the bat H9N2 subtype established a productive infection in all inoculated animals with a detectable seroconversion at day 21 post-infection. In conclusion, Egyptian fruit bats are most likely not susceptible to the avian H9N2 subtype, but can be infected with fruit bat-derived H9N2. H9-specific sero-reactivities in fruit bats in the field are therefore more likely the result of contact with a bat-adapted H9N2 strain

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• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Viruses. - 13, 4 (2021) , 672, ISSN: 1999-4915

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Freiburg
• (who): Universität
• (when): 2021
• Creator: Halwe, Nico Joël ; Gorka, Marco ; Hoffmann, Bernd ; Rissmann, Melanie ; Breithaupt, Angele ; Schwemmle, Martin ; Beer, Martin ; Kandeil, Ahmed ; Ali, Mohamed A. ; Kayali, Ghazi ; Hoffmann, Donata ; Balkema-Buschmann, Anne

Further information

• DOI: 10.3390/v13040672
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2181080
• Rights: Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.