Incursion of European Bat Lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) in Serotine Bats in the United Kingdom

Lyssaviruses are an important genus of zoonotic viruses which cause the disease rabies. The United Kingdom is free of classical rabies (RABV). However, bat rabies due to European bat lyssavirus 2 (EBLV-2), has been detected in Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) in Great Britain since 1996, including a fatal human case in Scotland in 2002. Across Europe, European bat lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) is commonly associated with serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus). Despite the presence of serotine bats across large parts of southern England, EBLV-1 had not previously been detected in this population. However, in 2018, EBLV-1 was detected through passive surveillance in a serotine bat from Dorset, England, using a combination of fluorescent antibody test, reverse transcription-PCR, Sanger sequencing and immunohistochemical analysis. Subsequent EBLV-1 positive serotine bats have been identified in South West England, again through passive surveillance, during 2018, 2019 and 2020. Here, we confirm details of seven cases of EBLV-1 and present similarities in genetic sequence indicating that emergence of EBLV-1 is likely to be recent, potentially associated with the natural movement of bats from the near continent

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Sporadic case of bat rabies in the United Kingdom

Weekly releases (1997–2007) ◽

10.2807/esw.06.40.01892-en ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 6 (40) ◽

Author(s):

A. R. Fooks ◽

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Fluorescent Antibody ◽

Antibody Test ◽

Sporadic Case ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Myotis Daubentonii ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Communicable Disease Report ◽

Bat Rabies

On 28 September 2002 a sporadic case of a lyssavirus in a Daubenton’s bat (Myotis daubentonii) was detected in the United Kingdom (UK) using the fluorescent antibody test, as reported in this week’s Communicable Disease Report (1). Further tests on the bat sample were performed, including a rabies tissue culture inoculation test and pan lyssavirus polymerase chain reaction. These confirmed the presence of a lyssavirus.

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Estimates of the frequency of HBV, HCV, and HIV infectious donations entering the blood supply in the United Kingdom, 1996 to 2003

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/esm.10.02.00520-en ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 9-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

K Soldan ◽

K Davison ◽

B Dow

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Blood Supply ◽

Antibody Test ◽

Window Period ◽

Technical Errors ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Current Usage ◽

Estimated Risk ◽

Antigen Tests ◽

The Uk

Several new tests have been recently introduced by the United Kingdom Blood Services to improve safety. The frequency (or risk) of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV infectious donations entering the UK blood supply during 1996-2003 has been estimated. These years span the introduction of nucleic acid testing (NAT) for HCV, HIV combination antigen and antibody test and NAT for HIV. The frequency of an infectious donation entering the blood supply due to i) the window period, ii) assay failures and iii) human and technical errors in testing and processing, was estimated. The window period risk was estimated using the incidence of infection in donors and the length of the window period for tests in use, with an adjustment for atypical inter-donation intervals in seroconverting donors. The estimated frequency of infectious donations entering the blood supply during 1996-2003 was 1.66, 0.80 and 0.14 per million for HBV, HCV and HIV respectively. HCV NAT resulted in an over 95% fall in the risk of HCV. Current usage of HIV combined antibody-antigen tests and of HIV NAT reduced the estimated risk of HIV by 10%. Since 1996, the risk of transfusion-transmitted HBV, HCV and HIV infection in the UK has been lowered by several improvements to donation testing, although the absolute reduction in risk has been small. Vigilance for errors and the affects of donor selection may be as or more important than further reductions to window periods of tests for improving blood safety with respect to HBV, HCV and HIV.

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Autochthonous tick-borne encephalitis in the United Kingdom: a second probable human case and local eco-epidemiological findings

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases ◽

10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101853 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101853

Author(s):

Christopher T Mansbridge ◽

Jane Osborne ◽

Maya Holding ◽

Matthew Dryden ◽

Marilyn Aram ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Human Case ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Tick Borne Encephalitis

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Molecular Epidemiology of Rotavirus in Cats in the United Kingdom

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.02266-14 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 53 (2) ◽

pp. 455-464 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

A. C. German ◽

M. Iturriza-Gómara ◽

W. Dove ◽

M. Sandrasegaram ◽

T. Nakagomi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Epidemiological Studies ◽

Population Based ◽

Interspecies Transmission ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Fecal Samples ◽

Rotavirus A ◽

Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽

The United Kingdom

Rotaviruses are leading causes of gastroenteritis in the young of many species. Molecular epidemiological studies in children suggest that interspecies transmission contributes to rotavirus strain diversity in people. However, population-based studies of rotaviruses in animals are few. We investigated the prevalence, risk factors for infection, and genetic diversity of rotavirus A in a cross-sectional survey of cats housed within 25 rescue catteries across the United Kingdom. Morning litter tray fecal samples were collected during the winter and summer in 2012 from all pens containing kittens and a random sample of those housing adult cats. Group A rotavirus RNA was detected by real-time reverse transcription-PCR, and positive samples were G and P genotyped using nested VP4 and VP7 PCR assays. A total of 1,727 fecal samples were collected from 1,105 pens. Overall, the prevalence of rotavirus was 3.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 4.9%). Thirteen out of 25 (52%; 95% CI, 31.3 to 72.2%) centers housed at least one rotavirus-positive cat. The prevalence of rotavirus was associated with season (odds ratio, 14.8 [95% CI, 1.1 to 200.4];P= 0.04) but not age or diarrhea. It was higher during the summer (4.7%; 95% CI, 1.2 to 8.3%) than in winter (0.8%; 95% CI, 0.2 to 1.5%). Asymptomatic epidemics of infection were detected in two centers. G genotypes were characterized for 19 (33.3%) of the 57 rotavirus-positive samples and P genotypes for 36 (59.7%). Two rotavirus genotypes were identified, G3P[9] and G6P[9]. This is the first population-based study of rotavirus in cats and the first report of feline G6P[9], which questions the previous belief that G6P[9] in people is of bovine origin.

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Diagnosis, management and post-mortem findings of a human case of rabies imported into the United Kingdom from India: a case report

Virology Journal ◽

10.1186/1743-422x-11-63 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Smriti Pathak ◽

Daniel L Horton ◽

Sebastian Lucas ◽

David Brown ◽

Shumonta Quaderi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Case Report ◽

Human Case ◽

Post Mortem ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Post Mortem Findings

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Molecular Epidemiology of Human Group A Rotavirus Infections in the United Kingdom between 1995 and 1998

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.38.12.4394-4401.2000 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 38 (12) ◽

pp. 4394-4401 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

Miren Iturriza-Gómara ◽

Jon Green ◽

David W. G. Brown ◽

Mary Ramsay ◽

Ulrich Desselberger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Molecular Epidemiology ◽

Reverse Transcription ◽

Animal Origin ◽

Human Group ◽

Group A Rotavirus ◽

Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Group A ◽

Rotavirus Infections

The G and P types of 2,912 rotavirus-positive fecal specimens collected from eight geographical areas of the United Kingdom between 1995 and 1998 were determined by reverse transcription-PCR. Although 15 different G-P combinations were identified, G1P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8], and G4P[8] strains constituted 95% of all the rotaviruses typed. Other genotypes included G9P[6] and G9P[8], which were first identified in the United Kingdom in 1995, or other uncommon G and/or P types of strains that may have had an animal origin. Unusual combinations of G1 or G4 with P[4] and G2 with P[8] which may have arisen by reassortment between human strains were also identified. G1P[8] was the genotype most frequently found (57 to 87%) in each season, followed by G2P[4] in the 1995–1996 (18%) and 1997–1998 (16%) seasons, although the incidence of infection with this virus decreased significantly to 2% during the 1996–1997 season. Significant differences were seen in the distributions of G1P[8], G2P[4], and G9P[8] strains between children and adults, in the temporal distributions of G4P[8] and G9P[8] strains within a season, and in the geographical distributions of each of the four most common genotypes from one season to the next.

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Rabies-like infection in Scotland

Weekly releases (1997–2007) ◽

10.2807/esw.06.50.01984-en ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 6 (50) ◽

Author(s):

N Crowcroft

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Human Case ◽

Human Infection ◽

Human Rabies ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

The Uk

A human case of European Bat Lyssavirus (EBL) 2 infection in Scotland in November was confirmed by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in November 2002 (1). This is the first confirmed human infection of EBL 2 in the United Kingdom (UK), and the first human rabies-like infection acquired in the UK since 1902 (2).

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