Synchronicity of viral shedding in molossid bat maternity colonies.
Epidemiol Infect
; 151: e47, 2023 02 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2262983
ABSTRACT
Infection dynamics in vertebrates are driven by biological and ecological processes. For bats, population structure and reproductive cycles have major effects on RNA virus transmission. On Reunion Island, previous studies have shown that parturition of pregnant females and aggregation of juvenile Reunion free-tailed bats (Mormopterus francoismoutoui) are associated with major increase in the prevalence of bats shedding RNA viruses. The synchronicity of such shedding pulses, however, is yet to be assessed between viruses but also maternity colonies. Based on 3422 fresh faeces collected every 2-5 weeks during four consecutive birthing seasons, we report the prevalence of bats shedding astroviruses (AstVs), coronaviruses (CoVs) and paramyxoviruses (PMVs) in two maternity colonies on Reunion Island. We found that the proportion of bats shedding viruses is highly influenced by sampling collection periods, and therefore by the evolution of the population age structure. We highlight that virus shedding patterns are consistent among years and colonies for CoVs and to a lesser extent for PMVs, but not for AstVs. We also report that 1% of bats harbour co-infections, with two but not three of the viruses, and most co-infections were due to CoVs and PMVs.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Chiroptera
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Coronavirus
/
Coinfection
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
Epidemiol Infect
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
/
Epidemiology
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S0950268823000171
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