Novel Betaherpesvirus in Bats | CDC EID

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Volume 16, Number 6–June 2010
Dispatch
Novel Betaherpesvirus in Bats
Shumpei Watanabe,1 Ken Maeda,1 Kazuo Suzuki, Naoya Ueda, Koichiro Iha, Satoshi Taniguchi, Hiroshi Shimoda, Kentaro Kato, Yasuhiro Yoshikawa, Shigeru Morikawa, Ichiro Kurane, Hiroomi Akashi, and Tetsuya Mizutani
Author affiliations: The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (S. Watanabe, N. Ueda, K. Iha, S. Taniguchi, K. Kato, Y. Yoshikawa, H. Akashi); Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan (K. Maeda, H. Shimoda); Hikiiwa Park Center, Wakayama, Japan (K. Suzuki); and National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo (S. Morikawa, I. Kurane, T. Mizutani)

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Abstract
Because bats are associated with emerging zoonoses, identification and characterization of novel viruses from bats is needed. Using a modified rapid determination system for viral RNA/DNA sequences, we identified a novel bat betaherpesvirus 2 not detected by herpesvirus consensus PCR. This modified system is useful for detecting unknown viruses.
Since the 1990s, bats have been associated with several emerging zoonotic agents, including Hendra, Nipah, Ebola, lyssa, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like viruses (1). Bats seem to have great potential as reservoirs for emerging viruses. Therefore, to understand the role of bats as a host species, identification and characterization of novel viruses from bats is needed. For virus isolation, we have been attempting to establish primary cell cultures from various bats (2,3). Using a rapid determination system for viral RNA sequences (RDV), we discovered a novel adenovirus and gammaherpesvirus in bats (2,4). This system, which we simplified to a less laborious one (5), is useful for detecting viruses, regardless of virus species (6).


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