We isolated Batai virus from the brain of a euthanized, 26-year-old, captive harbor seal with meningoencephalomyelitis in Germany. We provide evidence that this orthobunyavirus can naturally infect the central nervous system of a mammal. The full-genome sequence showed differences from a previously reported virus isolate from a mosquito in Germany.
Keywords: Batai virus; Bunyamwera virus; Germany; Ngari virus; Phoca vitulina; encephalitis; harbor seals; infection; meningitis/encephalitis; orthobunyavirus; viruses; zoonoses.