''Lagos bat lyssavirus'', formerly Lagos bat virus (LBV) is a ''

Lyssavirus ''Lyssavirus'' (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ''lyssa'' "rage, fury, rabies" and the Latin ''Virus#Etymology, vīrus'') is a genus of RNA viruses in the family ''Rhabdoviridae'', order ''Mononegavirales''. Mammals, including humans, can serve ...

'' of southern and central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

that causes a

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...

-like illness in mammals. It was first isolated from a

fruit bat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera '' Acerodon'' and ''Pteropus''—flying foxes. They are the only member of the ...

(''Eidolon helvum'') from

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a p ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in 1956. Brain samples from the bat showed poor

cross-reactivity Cross-reactivity, in a general sense, is the reactivity of an observed agent which initiates reactions outside the main reaction expected. This has implications for any kind of test or assay, including diagnostic tests in medicine, and can be a c ...

to rabies antibodies but the virus was found to be closely related to the rabies virus. This was the first discovery of a rabies-related

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

. Until this time, rabies was thought to have a single causal agent. ''Lagos bat lyssavirus'' has been isolated from wild and domestic mammals in southern Africa including bats, cats and one dog. One isolate was detected in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1999 when a fruit bat (''

Rousettus egypticus ''Rousettus'' is a genus of Old World fruit bats or megabats, referred to as rousette bats. The genus is a member of the family Pteropodidae. The genus consists of seven species that range over most of Africa to southeast Asia, and the islands ...

''), which had been displaying signs of aggression, died. The bat had been imported from Africa. No human cases of ''Lagos bat lyssavirus'' infection have been documented.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagos Bat Virus Lyssaviruses Bat virome