BATS AS POSSIBLE MAINTENANCE HOSTS FOR VESICULAR STOMATITIS VIRUS

Donaldson, A. I. (Animal Virus Research Institute, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey, England). Bats as possible maintenance hosts for vesicular stomatitis virus. Amer. J. Epid., 1970, 92: 132–136.—The susceptibility of bats (Myotis lucifugus lucifugus) to experimental infection with CocaI virus was studied. Bats were taken from a hibernaculum, subcutaneously inoculated with Cocal virus and then kept at 22 C or, alternatively, returned to simulated hibernation conditions. Under both sets of conditions inoculated bats manifested relatively long term viremia. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which were allowed to feed on infected bats in turn transmitted virus to suckling mice. The ecological factors favoring an involvement of bats in the epizootiology of VSV are discussed.