Isolation of a Novel Bat Rhabdovirus with Evidence of Human Exposure in China

Bats are well-recognized reservoirs of zoonotic viruses. Several spillover events from bats to humans have been reported, causing severe epidemic or endemic diseases including severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), SARS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV (MERS-CoV), henipaviruses, and filoviruses. In this study, a novel rhabdovirus species, provisionally named Rhinolophus rhabdovirus DPuer (DPRV), was identified from the horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus affinis) in Yunnan province, China, using next-generation sequencing. DPRV shedding in the spleen, liver, lung, and intestinal contents of wild bats with high viral loads was detected by real-time quantitative PCR, indicating that DPRV has tropism for multiple host tissues. Furthermore, DPRV can replicate in vitro in multiple mammalian cell lines, including BHK-21, A549, and MA104 cells, with the highest efficiency in hamster kidney cell line BHK-21, suggesting infectivity of DPRV in these cell line-derived hosts. Ultrastructure analysis revealed a characteristic bullet-shaped morphology and tightly clustered distribution of DPRV particles in the intracellular space. DPRV replicated efficiently in suckling mouse brains and caused death of suckling mice; death rates increased with passaging of DPRV in suckling mice. Moreover, 421 serum samples were collected from individuals who lived near the bat collection site and had fever symptoms within 1 year. DPRV-specific antibodies were detected in 20 (4.75%) human serum samples by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Furthermore, 10 (2.38%) serum samples were DPRV positive according to plaque reduction neutralization assay, which revealed potential transmission of DPRV from bats to humans and highlighted the potential public health risk. Potential vector association with DPRV was not found with negative viral RNA in bloodsucking arthropods. IMPORTANCE We identified a novel rhabdovirus from the horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus thomasi) in China with probable infectivity in humans. DPRV was isolated in vitro from several mammalian cell lines, indicating wide host tropism, excluding bats, of DPRV. DPRV replicated in the brains of suckling mice, and the death rate of suckling mice increased with passaging of DPRV in vivo. Serological tests indicated the possible infectivity of DPRV in humans and the potential transmission to humans. The present findings provide preliminary evidence for the potential risk of DPRV to public health. Additional studies with active surveillance are needed to address interspecies transmission and determine the pathogenicity of DPRV in humans.