Isolation of infectious Lloviu virus from Schreiber's bats in Hungary

Lloviu virus (LLOV) is a filovirus that was first identified in 2002 in Schreiber's bats in Europe. Here, the authors isolate infectious LLOV from Schreiber's bats in Hungary and show that it can infect human cells in vitro, suggesting potential for zoonotic events. They furthermore detect LLOV RNA in ectoparasites of sampled bats. Some filoviruses can be transmitted to humans by zoonotic spillover events from their natural host and filovirus outbreaks have occured with increasing frequency in the last years. The filovirus Lloviu virus (LLOV), was identified in 2002 in Schreiber's bats (Miniopterus schreibersii) in Spain and was subsequently detected in bats in Hungary. Here we isolate infectious LLOV from the blood of a live sampled Schreiber's bat in Hungary. The isolate is subsequently sequenced and cultured in the Miniopterus sp. kidney cell line SuBK12-08. It is furthermore able to infect monkey and human cells, suggesting that LLOV might have spillover potential. A multi-year surveillance of LLOV in bats in Hungary detects LLOV RNA in both deceased and live animals as well as in coupled ectoparasites from the families Nycteribiidae and Ixodidae. This correlates with LLOV seropositivity in sampled Schreiber's bats. Our data support the role of bats, specifically Miniopterus schreibersii as hosts for LLOV in Europe. We suggest that bat-associated parasites might play a role in the natural ecology of filoviruses in temperate climate regions compared to filoviruses in the tropics.

Automated summary

The study reveals that Lloviu virus is a tropical virus that can infect humans and was first identified in Schreiber's bats in Europe. The researchers also found Lloviu virus RNA in ectoparasites of the bats. These findings support the role of bats as hosts for Lloviu virus in Europe.