Screening of bat carers for antibodies to equine morbillivirus

Abstract

In response to a recent finding of antibodies reactive with equine morbillivirus in four species of flying foxes, people who had close association with flying foxes were tested for antibodies to the virus. One hundred and twenty-eight bat carers were tested, none of whom had detectable antibodies. As people who had regular contact with flying foxes were targeted in this study, themajority of the subjects had considerable histories of contact with flying foxes, including scratches and bites. These findings suggest that neither prolonged close contact nor casual contact with flying foxes engenders a risk of equine morbillivirus infection in humans. Comm Dis Intell 1996;20:477-478.