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. 2016 Aug;22(8):1456-9.
doi: 10.3201/eid2208.151986.

Lyssavirus in Indian Flying Foxes, Sri Lanka

Panduka S Gunawardena, Denise A Marston, Richard J Ellis, Emma L Wise, Anjana C Karawita, Andrew C Breed, Lorraine M McElhinney, Nicholas Johnson, Ashley C Banyard, Anthony R Fooks

Lyssavirus in Indian Flying Foxes, Sri Lanka

Panduka S Gunawardena et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016 Aug.

Abstract

A novel lyssavirus was isolated from brains of Indian flying foxes (Pteropus medius) in Sri Lanka. Phylogenetic analysis of complete virus genome sequences, and geographic location and host species, provides strong evidence that this virus is a putative new lyssavirus species, designated as Gannoruwa bat lyssavirus.

Keywords: Asia; GBLV; Gannoruwa bat lyssavirus; Indian flying fox; Pteropus medius; Sri Lanka; fruit bat; lyssavirus; rabies; viruses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Negri bodies and lyssavirus antigens in brain tissue from an Indian flying fox, Sri Lanka. A) Degenerate Purkinje’s cell with an eosinophilic, intracytoplasmic inclusion body and a Negri body (arrow). Hematoxylin and eosin stain, original magnification ×1,000. B) Green fluorescence indicative of lyssavirus nucleoprotein in a brain smear subjected to a direct fluorescence antibody test with fluorescein isothiocyanate–conjugated monoclonal antibody. Original magnification ×100.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic relationships between representatives from all classified lyssaviruses and novel Gannoruwa bat lyssavirus (GBLV) on the basis of complete genome sequences. All 4 GBLV sequences form a monophyletic clade and are >99.9% identical across the genome; therefore, only 1 sequence (in bold) is shown. Relationships are shown as an unrooted phylogram, which was constructed by using the maximum-likelihood method and a general time reversible plus gamma distribution plus proportion of invariable sites model, and are identified by using the model test implemented in MEGA6 (http://www.megasoftware.net). Bootstrap values ≥70 (1,000 replicates) are indicated next to branches; sequences are listed with GenBank accession numbers. RABV, rabies virus; ABLV, Australian bat lyssavirus; ARAV, Aravan virus; BBLV, Bokeloh bat lyssavirus; KHUV, Khujand virus; EBLV, European bat lyssavirus; IRKV, Irkut virus; DUVV, Duvenhage virus; SHIBV, Shimoni bat virus; MOKV, Mokola virus; LBV, Lagos bat virus; WCBV, West Caucasian bat virus; IKOV, Ikoma lyssavirus. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.
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