Hypsugopoxvirus: A Novel Poxvirus Isolated from Hypsugo savii in Italy

Lelli, Davide; Lavazza, Antonio; Prosperi, Alice; Sozzi, Enrica; Faccin, Francesca; Baioni, Laura; Trogu, Tiziana; Cavallari, Gian Luca; Mauri, Matteo; Gibellini, Anna Maria; Chiapponi, Chiara; Moreno, Ana

A virus was isolated on MARC 145 cells inoculated with the organ pool composed of the bat's heart and lungs. The CPE occurred on the third day post-inoculation during the second passage and was characterized by a diffused degeneration of a monolayer with rounded cells floating in the culture medium ( Figure 1A ,B). The cell culture supernatant showing CPE was submitted to the NGS in order to identify and characterize the unknown isolate. Furthermore, nsEM performed on the purified and concentrated antigen revealed the presence of viral particles that unequivocally morphologically resembled those belonging to the genus Orthopoxvirus ( Figure 1C ). The virus was tentatively named Hypsugopoxvirus (HYPV), according to the bat species from which it was isolated. Table 1 summarizes the basic information on the HYPV identified in this study in comparison with all known poxviruses detected to date in bats worldwide.