Evidence for Novel Hepaciviruses in Rodents

Drexler, Jan Felix; Corman, Victor Max; Müller, Marcel Alexander; Lukashev, Alexander N.; Gmyl, Anatoly; Coutard, Bruno; Adam, Alexander; Ritz, Daniel; Leijten, Lonneke M.; van Riel, Debby; Kallies, Rene; Klose, Stefan M.; Gloza-Rausch, Florian; Binger, Tabea; Annan, Augustina; Adu-Sarkodie, Yaw; Oppong, Samuel; Bourgarel, Mathieu; Rupp, Daniel; Hoffmann, Bernd; Schlegel, Mathias; Kümmerer, Beate M.; Krüger, Detlev H.; Schmidt-Chanasit, Jonas; Setién, Alvaro Aguilar; Cottontail, Veronika M.; Hemachudha, Thiravat; Wacharapluesadee, Supaporn; Osterrieder, Klaus; Bartenschlager, Ralf; Matthee, Sonja; Beer, Martin; Kuiken, Thijs; Reusken, Chantal; Leroy, Eric M.; Ulrich, Rainer G.; Drosten, Christian

Our serological evidence for hepaciviruses in bats is noteworthy even in absence of direct virus findings. Viruses from all Flaviviridae genera including Pegivirus, Pestivirus and Flavivirus have already been found in bats [48, 70, 71] . We could not exclude that the antibodies in bat sera reacting with HCV antigens were directed against viruses from other Flaviviridae genera, rather than bat hepaciviruses. However, there was no cross-reactivity between the NS3 proteins of the more closely related canine/equine hepaciviruses and HCV [24] . Similarly, the two bank vole hepacivirus clades from our study showed no serologic cross-reactivity. These data can therefore serve as very initial suggestions for the existence of bat hepaciviruses only. It should be noted that the degree of genomic similarity necessary for serologic cross-reactivity should have permitted RNA detection by the broadly reactive PCR assays used in this study. Whether bat hepaciviruses indeed exist will therefore require further evidence. A first step to this direction may be an analysis of an expanded bat sample by using the methods presented here.