Detection of alpha and betacoronaviruses in multiple Iberian bat species

Falcón, Ana; Vázquez-Morón, Sonia; Casas, Inmaculada; Aznar, Carolina; Ruiz, Guillermo; Pozo, Francisco; Perez-Breña, Pilar; Juste, Javier; Ibáñez, Carlos; Garin, Inazio; Aihartza, Joxerra; Echevarría, Juan E.

The relevance and possible re-emergence of the pandemic SARS-CoV and other emerging viruses of zoonotic origin have activated surveillance systems of hazard agents in wild animals, including bats. As a result of these studies, bats have been described as putative reservoirs for some emerging viruses affecting humans [6] . BatCoV are putative precursors of CoV affecting humans and mammals [7, 8] , including SARS-CoV [2] and other CoV that crossed the species barrier from zoonotic reservoirs into the human population [9] . In fact, association of some of these CoV to certain bat species has been suggested [10, 11] , reinforcing the notion that there may be a relationship between some BatCoV and their hosts. Nowadays the presence of CoV has been shown in bats in China [12, 13] , North and South America [14] [15] [16] [17] , Africa [18] and a number of regions in Europe [11, [19] [20] [21] but not the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), which is a bridge for European and African bat populations [22] . Thus, surveillance of wildlife reservoirs of putative zoonotic CoV is necessary, not only to unveil the ecology of these viruses, but also to permit early detection of viruses that might pose a threat to human health.