Australian bat lyssavirus
| Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) | |
|---|---|
| Virus classification | |
| Group: | Group V ((−)ssRNA) |
| Order: | Mononegavirales |
| Family: | Rhabdoviridae |
| Genus: | Lyssavirus |
| Species: | Australian bat lyssavirus |
Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) (initially named pteropid lyssavirus PLV) is a zoonotic virus closely related to rabies virus. It was first identified in a 5-month-old juvenile black flying fox (Pteropus alecto) collected near Ballina in northern New South Wales, Australia in January 1995 during a national surveillance program for the recently identified Hendra virus. ABLV is the seventh member of the lyssavirus genus (which includes rabies virus) and the only lyssavirus family member present in Australia.
ABLV is distributed throughout Australia in a variety of bat species which are believed to be the primary reservoir for the virus.
"Surveillance initiatives also confirmed the presence of lyssavirus in both Pteropid (Gould et al., 1998) and insectivorous bats (Gould et al., 2002; Hooper et al., 1997), and later, human infections were reported following encounters with both fruit and insectivorous bats (Allworth et al., 1996; Hanna et al., 2000; Warrilow, 2005; Warrilow et al., 2002). Indeed, ABLV has now been isolated from five different bat species, all four species of Pteropodidae in Australia and from an insectivorous bat species, the yellow-bellied sheath-tailed bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris), with two distinct lineages apparently circulating in insectivorous and frugivorous bats (Fraser et al., 1996; Gould et al., 1998, 2002; Guyatt et al., 2003). Phylogenetically and serologically, ABLV isolates appear to be more closely related to RABV than any of the other Old World lyssaviruses (Fig. 2). Although the black flying fox is a native fruit bat to Australia and is present on islands to the north, ABLV has only been isolated in Australia. However, serosurveillance of bat populations in the Philippines has suggested that lyssavirus infection of bats might be more widespread than previously thought (Arguin et al., 2002)."
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