Henipaviruses and Fruit Bats, Papua New Guinea

human respiratory syncytial viruses of subgroups A and B: extensive sequence divergence between antigenically related proteins. et al. New genotypes within respiratory syncytial virus group B genotype BA in Niigata, Japan. Circulation patterns of genetically distinct group A and B strains of human respiratory syncytial virus in a community. al. Major changes in the G protein of human respiratory syncytial virus isolates introduced by a duplication of 60 nucleotides. history of human respiratory syncytial virus inferred from phylogenetic analysis of the attachment (G) glycoprotein with a 60-nucleotide duplication. Ten years of global evolution of the human respiratory syncytial virus BA genotype with a 60-nucleotide duplication in the G protein gene. To the Editor: In 2010, detection of henipavirus (Hendra or Nipah virus) and rubulavirus (Tioman or Menangle virus) antibodies in fruit bats in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was reported (1). To explore changes in henipavirus dynamics in fruit bats, we compare and contrast this finding with serologic findings from 10 years earlier (2; H. Field et al., unpub. data). In these earlier studies, blood samples were collected from 182 wild-caught fruit bats of mixed species , age, and sex from 3 locations in (Figure). The 20 samples from Madang were collected as blood spots on filter paper and forwarded to the (then) Department of Primary Industries Animal Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia, where they were eluted and screened by ELISA for antibodies against Hen-dra virus (3). Serum from 59 samples from New Britain and 103 from Lae were forwarded to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, Australia. Samples from New Britain were screened for antibodies against Hendra virus by virus neutralization test (VNT) (3). Positive samples were subsequently screened by VNT for an-tibodies against Nipah virus. Samples from Lae were screened by VNT for Hendra, Nipah, and Menangle viruses (3). A reciprocal VNT titer of >5 was considered indicative of antibodies. Of the 20 samples from Madang, 2 (10%) reacted in the Hendra virus ELISA. Of the 147 samples from New Britain and Lae that yielded definitive VNT results, 11 (7.5%) yielded neutralizing antibodies to Hendra virus and 5 (3.4%) to Nipah virus. All samples with antibodies against Nipah virus also had anti-bodies against Hendra virus; titers against Hendra virus were greater (4 samples) or equivalent (1 sample) to those against Nipah virus. Reciprocal titers against Hendra virus were 5–160 (median 10) and …