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- "West Nile, ground zero hot zone, gone Batty!"
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- The announcement from Dr. Wade Stone, New York State
Pathologist, that 3 bats found in Albany, New York tested positive for
West Nile caught New Yorkers, and those in the West Nile ground zero hot
zone, by surprise.
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- Bats have been known to be reservoirs for Nipah Virus,
a paramyxoviridae family virus that is sometimes misdiagnosed as flaviviridae
Japanese Encephalitis. Bats are known to be reservoirs for St. Louis Encephalitis,
a flavivirus.
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- Bats and birds do have similiar migratory habits. Bats
can travel 1,000 miles just to feed.
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- Birds, however, have a mostly north/south migratory path,
while bats have a mostly east/west.
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- If bats can maintain adequate levels of viremia for west
nile, they can host the virus and spread it in their travels.
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- These varied migratory patterns could possibly cause
the virus to spread coast to coast and border to border, and beyond.
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- Patricia Doyle
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- From M. Cosgriff <mcosgriff@hotmail.com Source: Albany
Times Union 8-31-00
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- Virus Found In 3 Bats In Albany, New York State
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- ALBANY - State officials reported on Tuesday that West
Nile virus has spread for the first time in the Western Hemisphere to a
wild mammal, with three bats found in downtown Albany [infected] with the
virus. Three Big Brown bats, which are about 3 inches in length, were discovered
by homeowners in the vicinity of Washington Park and initially submitted
to the State Health Department for rabies testing. But tests conducted
at the State's Wadsworth Laboratory found instead that they were infected
with West Nile virus.
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- "There have been reports that bats were not faring
well this summer, but we thought it was perhaps due to the weather,"
said State wildlife pathologist Ward Stone. "Big Brown bats eat insects,
a food source threatened by cold and rainy conditions. Bats are one of
the [players] in the West Nile fight because they eat mosquitoes,"
said Stone.
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- While health officials are unclear what role bats may
play in the [epidemiology] of West Nile virus infection, they stressed
that a person would not acquire the disease from a bat bite because the
virus is transmitted by blood. Scientists are unsure whether [West Nile
virus] can multiply in a bat to a level sufficient to infect a blood-feeding
mosquito. "This is another clear indication that there are still many
more questions than answers about how West Nile virus is establishing itself
in the Western Hemisphere," said State Health Commissioner Antonia
C. Novello.
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- So far this year, the virus has infected 412 birds, 6
wild birds such as falcons, and one chicken in New York state. On Wednesday,
2 additional birds were found in the Capital Region -- one each in Albany
and Schenectady counties. The only other mammal in which West Nile virus
has been detected this year was a horse on Staten Island. _____
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- ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org
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- [The detection of West Nile virus infection in bats is
significant development as these animals could be an amplifying host. West
Nile virus has been isolated from humans, birds, camels, rodents, horses
and bats [in India], as well as ticks, and many species of mosquitoes.
However, these isolations have all occurred in places outside the U.S.
It is perhaps premature to conclude that West Nile virus cannot be transmitted
directly to humans by bite. -Mod.CP] ......................cp/ds
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