Abstract:
Lagos bat lyssavirus (LBV) comprising four lineages (A, B, C and D) can potentially
cause the fatal disease rabies. Although LBV-B was initially isolated in Nigeria in 1956, there is no
information on LBV lineages circulating in Nigeria. This study was undertaken for the first time to
measure the neutralizing antibodies against four lineages of LBVs in straw-colored fruit bats (Eidolon
helvum) in Makurdi, Nigeria. Serum samples (n = 180) collected during two periods (November
2017–March 2018 and November 2018–March 2019) from terminally bled bats captured for human
consumption were tested using a modified fluorescent antibody virus neutralization (mFAVN) assay.
A high proportion of bat sera (74%) neutralized at least one lineage of LBV (with reciprocal titers from
9 to >420.89) and most of them neutralized LBV-A (63%), followed by LBV-D (49%), LBV-C (45%)
and LBV-B (24%). The majority of positive sera (75%, n = 100) neutralized multiple LBV lineages
while the remaining 25% (n = 33) neutralized only a single lineage, i.e., LBV-A (n = 23), LBV-D (n = 8)
and LBV-C (n = 2). None exclusively neutralized LBV-B. The results suggest that exposure to LBV
is common in E. helvum and that LBV-A (but not LBV-B) is likely to be circulating in this region of
Nigeria.
