A bat found dead in Yunlin County last week has been confirmed to have been infected by a new type of Lyssavirus, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said.
It was the second Lyssavirus infection of its kind in a bat in Taiwan, it said.
The Lyssavirus genus includes the more common rabies virus.
Photo courtesy of Yunlin County Government
The Animal Health Research Institute on Wednesday received a dead Japanese house bat found in the county’s Douliu City (斗六市) and sent it to a National Pingtung University of Science laboratory for examination, the bureau said.
After examining the animal, the institute on Friday confirmed that it was infected by a new genotype of the Lyssavirus that was 98.7 percent similar to the first case of such genotype found in another dead bat in Tainan in November last year.
“There are 14 species of Lyssavirus and the rabies virus is included in the genus,” bureau Deputy Director-General Shih Tai-hua (施泰華) said, adding that since the bureau began monitoring Lyssaviruses in bats in 2009, it has examined more than 500 samples of bat brain tissue or serum, and came up with only two positive results.
The bureau said it has reported the case to the Centers for Disease Control, because the Lyssavirus can be transmitted to humans.
Although there has been no reported cases of infection in humans in Taiwan so far, the bureau said it has asked the Bat Association of Taiwan to look for injured or dead bats in the area for further investigation, and instructed the local bureau to enhance rabies vaccination in cats and dogs.
It urged people not to abandon pets and avoid contact with wild animals, and advised pet owners to have their pets vaccinated against rabies every year.
The Japanese house bat is commonly seen in low and medium elevations. People should avoid touching them to reduce the risk of infection and immediately seek medical attention if they are bitten by a bat, the bureau said.
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