A study published in Nature reports detection in Germany of Issyk-Kul virus in bats. This discovery indicates for the first time the prevalence of these zoonotic viruses in Europe.
Organ tissue homogenates from 12 bats (Eptesicus nilssonii or Nilson’s serotin) showing histopathological alterations were pooled, purified and subjected to viral genome sequencing. The viral sequences identified shared the greatest identity with the reference strain KR709221 of the Issyk-Kul virus.
Issyk-Kul virus has been described as a virus pathogenic to humans, causing febrile epidemics in humans with headache, myalgia and nausea.
Ref : First detection of bat-borne Issyk-Kul virus in Europe. Annika Brinkmann, Claudia Kohl, Aleksandar Radoni?, Piotr Wojtek Dabrowski, Kristin Mühldorfer, Andreas Nitsche, Gudrun Wibbelt & Andreas Kurth. Scientific Reports volume 10, Article number: 22384 (2020)
Reminders on the Issyk-Kul virus :
The Issyk-Kul virus is a orthonairovirus from the family of Bunyaviridae, such as the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. The virus was already described more than 40 years ago in Central Asia. Its reservoir host is the bat. This study shows for the first time the abundance of this virus in Europe and in particular within the species this common bat Eptesicus nilsonii distributed throughout Asia and Europe (including the polar regions).
Source : Nature, scientific reports.
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