Study of Exoparasites, Rickettsia and Hantaan virus in Bats

ABSTRACT

To study the relation between ectoparasite, Rickettsia and hantaan virus in bats, four order of Athropoda were collected from Rhinolophus ferrumequinum captured in Cheju and Eptesicus serotinus captured in Chungnamin from July 1989 to March 1998. Also antibody of Rickettsia and hantaan virus were detected by immunofluoroscent antibody technique and RT-PCR. The results are as follows. 1. Five species of Acarina were identified from E. serotinus: Leptotrobidium subakamushi of Trombiculidae, Macronyssus coreanus, Steatonyssuss spinosuss and Steatonychus superans of Macronyssidae, Argas vespertilionis of Metastigmata. 2. Ischnopsyllus needhami of Siphonaptera and Cimex of Hemiptera were identified from E. serotinus. 3. Cyteribia uenoi and Brachytarsina kanoi of Diptera were identified from R. ferrumequinum. 4. The positive rate of rickettsial antibodies in E. serotinus were 17.58%, 15.15%, 22.22%, 52.73% against R. tsutsugamushi, R. typhi, R. sibirica and R. thai tick typhus, respectively. The high positive rate of antibody related to the high content of Arthropoda. 5. The Positive rate of hantaan virus IFA antibodies were 3.4% (27 of 802) and hanntan virus infection rate 36.7% (22 of 60) by RT-PCR in bats. According these result, we showed that certain species of Athropoda isolated play a role as vector of Rickettsia in E. serotinus. Also bats play a role as a reservoir of hantaan virus in nature.