Molecular detection of bunyavirus in bat flies in Kelantan and Terengganu, Malaysia

An abstract of the research paper presented to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, in partial requirement on the course DVT 5436 – Research Project.
Bunyavirus is an RNA virus that belongs to the Bunyaviridae family. The Bunyaviridae family is one of the largest virus families, with five genera, four of which contain animal-infecting viruses and one carrying plant-infecting viruses. Arthropods are required as vectors for Orthobunyavirus, Phlebovirus, and Nairovirus (arboviruses), whereas rodents are required for Hantavirus (roboviruses). Bats are known to be the natural reservoirs for a wide range of zoonotic diseases that can spread and cross species barriers and are home to a wide range of ectoparasitic species. The most frequent ectoparasites on bats are bat flies (Nycteribiidae and Streblidae). The purpose of this study is to detect the presence of Bunyavirus from ectoparasites of bats for the possibility of bats as the reservoir host of Bunyavirus. A total of 98 ectoparasite samples were collected from bats from 2 different places in East Coast, Malaysia which are in Sekayu, Terengganu and Gunung Reng, Kelantan. The ectoparasites were further classified based on their family morphology. In this study, the ectoparasites were mainly bat flies. Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) using universal primers of the Small (S) RNA segment of Bunyavirus was used to detect Bunyavirus. Agarose gel electrophoresis results showed none of the samples appear at the expected amplicon band size. This result will contribute to the new knowledge on the diversity of the virus, their vectors and possible public health importance in Malaysia.
Keywords: Bunyavirus, bat flies, RT-PCR, Kelantan, Terengganu.