12 ISSN 1810-1119 FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH manual INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF BATS IN EMERGING ZOONOSES Balancing ecology, conservation and public health interest Cover photographs: Left: © Jon Epstein. EcoHealth Alliance Center: © Jon Epstein. EcoHealth Alliance Right: © Samuel Castro. Bureau of Animal Industry Philippines 12 FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH manual INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF BATS IN EMERGING ZOONOSES Balancing ecology, conservation and public health interest Edited by Scott H. Newman, Hume Field, Jon Epstein and Carol de Jong FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2011 Recommended Citation Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. 2011. Investigating the role of bats in emerging zoonoses: Balancing ecology, conservation and public health interests. Edited by S.H. Newman, H.E. Field, C.E. de Jong and J.H. Epstein. FAO Animal Production and Health Manual No. 12. Rome. 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Copyright in contents from partners remains with the individual institutions. © FAO 2011 iii Contents Authors’ details v Foreword vii Acknowledgements ix Preface: Scope of this manual xi CHAPTER 1 Emerging infectious diseases 1 Wildlife and emerging infectious diseases 1 Drivers of emergence 2 Impact of EIDs 4 Bats and EIDs 4 Management strategies 8 CHAPTER 2 Natural history, ecological and socio-economic value of bats 15 Taxonomy and distribution 15 Natural history 16 Ecosystem roles 20 Socio-economic roles 21 CHAPTER 3 Bat population abundance assessment and monitoring 29 Population abundance assessment 30 Survey and monitoring design considerations 38 Application of bat population surveys and monitoring to the study of bat-borne diseases 42 Conclusion 43 CHAPTER 4 Disease surveillance in free-ranging bat populations: challenges and logistical considerations 47 Introduction 47 Sampling biases 49 Capture techniques: safety and efficacy 49 Sampling protocols 53 Transport 58 Diagnostic assays/interpretation 58 iv CHAPTER 5 Significant zoonotic diseases identified in bats 63 Introduction 63 Henipaviruses 64 Lyssaviruses 80 Bat coronaviruses 102 Filoviruses 123 CHAPTER 6 Virus discovery 137 Introduction 137 History of virus discovery in bats 138 Molecular approaches to virus discovery in bats 140 Improvement of virus isolation from bats 143 Concluding remarks 145 CHAPTER 7 The use of telemetry to understand bat movement and ecology 151 Tracking technology 151 Discussion 157 CHAPTER 8 The global context of ensuring the health of people, wildlife, livestock and the environment 163 CHAPTER 9 Safe handling of bats 167 Risks of handling bats 167 Working safely 167 First aid and medical assessment 168 v Authors’ details (in alphabetical order) Brian R. Amman Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America e-mail: [email protected] Janine Barrett Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Biosecurity Queensland, Brisbane, Australia e-mail: [email protected] Carol de Jong Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Biosecurity Queensland, Brisbane, Australia e-mail: [email protected] Jonathan H. Epstein EcoHealth Alliance, New York, NY, United States of America e-mail: [email protected] Hume Field Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Biosecurity Queensland, Brisbane, Australia e-mail: [email protected] Ivan V. Kuzmin Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America e-mail: [email protected] Tammy Mildenstein Wildlife Biology Program, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, United States of America [email protected] Scott H. Newman EMPRES Wildlife Health & Ecology Unit, Animal Health Service, Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome e-mail: [email protected] vi Stuart Nichol Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America e-mail: [email protected] Craig Smith Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Biosecurity Queensland, Brisbane, Australia e-mail: [email protected] Suxiang Tong Gastroenteritis and Respiratory Laboratory Branch, Division of Viral Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America e-mail: [email protected] Jonathan Towner Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America e-mail: [email protected] Lin-Fa Wang CSIRO Livestock Industries, Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Australia e-mail: [email protected] vii Foreword With over 1,150 bat species worldwide – representing about twenty percent of the biodiversity of all mammalian species – they carry out important ecological and agricultural functions such pollination and dispersion of seeds. And while many tropical plant species depend entirely on bats for the distribution of their seeds, it is true that in the tropics bats can also be carriers of important diseases such as rabies, mokola, duvenhage, hendra or nipah viruses. These are the ones we know of today, but some 40 years ago, all we knew was about rabies. Is there more we should be doing? This manual, “Investigating the role of bats in emerging zoonoses: Balancing ecology, conservation and public health interests” is an introduction to the complex issues associated with a One Health approach to understanding the biology and ecological importance of bats, and the drivers of zoonotic disease emergence from bats to people. As an introduction, this manual will provide a basis for understanding the need to balance natural resource management, disease surveillance, prevention and control. Dr Juan Lubroth, Chief Veterinary Officer Animal Health Service FAO, Rome ix Acknowledgements The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is grateful to the authors of this manual, who met stringent deadlines to deliver excellent overviews of their respective topics. Thanks also to Andreas Streit, Tony Hutson, Paul Racey and Peter Lina for their chapter reviews and suggested revisions, and Charles Rupprecht from the Poxvirus and Rabies Branch (CDC) for his significant contributions to the Lyssaviruses section of chapter 5. The authors are grateful to Cecilia Murguia, who coordinated chapter editing and layout of the manual, Diana Dennington for assistance with scheduling and financial management, and Jane Shaw for editing and proofreading. FAO would like to thank the donors who provided financial support to make the publication of this manual possible. FAO formally acknowledges the following donors: the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the National Institutes of Health, Allergy and Infectious Disease; the Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific; and the Animal Production and Health Division at FAO. The authors would like to acknowledge all of the fieldworkers, researchers, biologists, medics, ecologists and veterinarians whose hard work contributed to the knowledge base presented in this manual. Special thanks to the staff of the Rabies Program CDC for their scientific expertise, dedicated service and international research collaboration. The bat health and safety section has been developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Australian Wildlife Health Network. Information is based upon guidance provided in Australian AUSVETPLANs, developed by government health and agriculture agencies and bat experts in Australia; guidance within Bat Manual chapters; and information provided in the Australian Immunisation Handbook 9th Edition 2008. Lyndel Post, Wildlife