Experimental Infection of Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with Two Strains of SARS-CoV-2.
Viruses
; 14(8)2022 08 18.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1997800
ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is presumed to have originated from wildlife and shares homology with other bat coronaviruses. Determining the susceptibility of North American bat species to SARS-CoV-2 is of utmost importance for making decisions regarding wildlife management, public health, and conservation. In this study, Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) were experimentally infected with two strains of SARS-CoV-2 (parental WA01 and Delta variant), evaluated for clinical disease, sampled for viral shedding and antibody production, and analyzed for pathology. None of the bats (n = 18) developed clinical disease associated with infection, shed infectious virus, or developed histopathological lesions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. All bats had low levels of viral RNA in oral swabs, six bats had low levels of viral RNA present in the lungs during acute infection, and one of the four bats that were maintained until 28 days post-infection developed a neutralizing antibody response. These findings suggest that Brazilian free-tailed bats are permissive to infection by SARS-CoV-2, but they are unlikely to contribute to environmental maintenance or transmission.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Chiroptera
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
V14081809
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