SciTechDaily Researchers studying infectious diseases have found evidence of Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV), a bat-associated orthoreovirus, in stored throat swabs and virus cultures from five people in Bangladesh. These patients were originally believed to have Nipah virus infection but later tested negative.
The finding expands the list of animal-to-human viruses known to infect people in Bangladesh and indicates that PRV may be an overlooked cause of illnesses that resemble Nipah. The results were published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Each of the five patients had recently consumed raw date-palm sap—a sweet liquid that bats also drink, particularly during the winter season—and a well-established route of Nipah virus transmission in Bangladesh. Bats are known to harbor a wide range of viruses capable of infecting humans, including rabies, Nipah, Hendra, Marburg, and SARS-CoV-1.
“Our findings show that the risk of disease associated with raw date palm sap consumption extends beyond Nipah virus,” said Nischay Mishra, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII), Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and senior author of the study. “It also underscores the importance of broad-spectrum surveillance programs to identify and mitigate public health risks from emerging bat-borne viruses.”