Bats host major mammalian paramyxoviruses

Drexler, Jan Felix; Corman, Victor Max; Müller, Marcel Alexander; Maganga, Gael Darren; Vallo, Peter; Binger, Tabea; Gloza-Rausch, Florian; Rasche, Andrea; Yordanov, Stoian; Seebens, Antje; Oppong, Samuel; Sarkodie, Yaw Adu; Pongombo, Célestin; Lukashev, Alexander N.; Schmidt-Chanasit, Jonas; Stöcker, Andreas; Carneiro, Aroldo José Borges; Erbar, Stephanie; Maisner, Andrea; Fronhoffs, Florian; Buettner, Reinhard; Kalko, Elisabeth K.V.; Kruppa, Thomas; Franke, Carlos Roberto; Kallies, René; Yandoko, Emmanuel R.N.; Herrler, Georg; Reusken, Chantal; Hassanin, Alexandre; Krüger, Detlev H.; Matthee, Sonja; Ulrich, Rainer G.; Leroy, Eric M.; Drosten, Christian

Hosts of relevant infectious disease agents share distinctive properties that can be summarised into a cumulative definition of animal reservoirs (AR) as of interest in public health. We define as ARs those taxa of extant animals that contain higher genetic virus diversity than target taxa, harbour the virus continuously on the level of social groups (with or without disease) 4, 7 , and are naturally infected beyond the geographical limits of communicating social groups [3] [4] . These cumulative parameters are amenable to field investigations, without the requirement to manipulate wild animals and their habitats extensively. Nevertheless, logistical, ethical and ecological limits in field investigations still require a focussing on appropriate candidate taxa. Here, it is helpful to consider that the potential of animals to act as AR can be linked to social and behavioural parameters, which in turn are inherent to taxa. Virus transmission and maintenance is generally favoured by large social groups, close social interaction, high population densities, as well as spatial mobility and fast population turnover 2, 4, 8 . It is also helpful to consider that genetic proximity between species is favourable of cross-species pathogen transmission 6, [9] [10] [11] . For instance, all cumulative criteria are met by the best studied of relationships between a virus genus and its AR, the influenza A virus in waterfowl 3, [9] [10] .