Lagos bat virus (LBV) is a ''

Lyssavirus ''Lyssavirus'' (from the Greek ''lyssa'' "rage, fury, rabies" and the Latin '' vīrus'') is a genus of RNA viruses in the family ''Rhabdoviridae'', order '' Mononegavirales''. Mammals, including humans, can serve as natural hosts. The genus ...

'' of southern and central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

that causes a

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...

-like illness in mammals. It was first isolated from a fruit bat (''Eidolon helvum'') from

Lagos Island Lagos Island () is the principal and central Local government areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos, Nigeria. It was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian ce ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in 1956. Brain samples from the bat showed poor

cross-reactivity Cross-reactivity, in a general sense, is the reactivity of an observed agent which initiates reactions outside the main reaction expected. This has implications for any kind of test or assay, including diagnostic tests in medicine, and can be a c ...

to rabies

antibodies An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as bacteria and viruses, including those that caus ...

but the virus was found to be closely related to the rabies virus. This was the first discovery of a rabies-related

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

. Until this time, rabies was thought to have a single causal agent. Lagos bat virus has been isolated from wild and domestic mammals in southern Africa including bats, cats and one dog. One isolate was detected in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1999 when a fruit bat ('' Rousettus egypticus''), which had been displaying signs of aggression, died. The bat had been imported from Africa. No human cases of Lagos bat virus infection have been documented.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagos Bat Virus Lyssaviruses Bat virome