Isolation of Kaeng Khoi virus from dead Chaerephon plicata bats in Cambodia

• Published in: Journal of general virology Vol. 84; no. 10; pp. 2685 - 2689
• Main Authors: Osborne, J. C, Rupprecht, C. E, Olson, J. G, Ksiazek, T. G, Rollin, P. E, Niezgoda, M, Goldsmith, C. S, An, U. S, Nichol, S. T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Soc General Microbiol 01-10-2003
• Subjects: Animals; Brain - virology; Bunyaviridae - classification; Bunyaviridae - genetics; Bunyaviridae - isolation & purification; Bunyaviridae - pathogenicity; Bunyaviridae Infections - veterinary; Bunyaviridae Infections - virology; Cambodia; Chaerephon plicata; Chiroptera - virology; Chlorocebus aethiops; Kaeng khoi virus; Mice; Phylogeny; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Viral - analysis; Vero Cells; Cambodia
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.19294-0

1 Special Pathogens Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
2 Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
3 Infectious Disease Pathology Activity, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
4 National Institute of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Correspondence Stuart Nichol stn1{at}cdc.gov
A virus isolated from dead Chaerephon plicata bats collected near Kampot, Cambodia, was identified as a member of the family Bunyaviridae by electron microscopy. The only bunyavirus previously isolated from Chaerephon species bats in South-East Asia is Kaeng Khoi (KK) virus (genus Orthobunyavirus ), detected in Thailand over 30 years earlier and implicated as a public health problem. Using RT-PCR, nucleotide sequences from the M RNA segment of several virus isolates from the Cambodian C. plicata bats were found to be almost identical and to differ from those of the prototype KK virus by only 2·6–3·2 %, despite the temporal and geographic separation of the viruses. These results identify the Cambodian bat viruses as KK virus, extend the known virus geographic range and document the first KK virus isolation in 30 years. These genetic data, together with earlier serologic data, show that KK viruses represent a distinct group within the genus Orthobunyavirus .