Bats are reservoirs of various viruses. The widely distributed cave nectar bat ( Eonycteris spelaea) is known to carry both filoviruses and coronaviruses. However, the potential transmission of theses bat viruses to humans is not fully understood. In this study, we tracked 16 E. spelaea bats in Mengla County, Yunnan Province, China, using miniaturized GPS devices to investigate their movements and potential contact with humans. Furthermore, to determine the prevalence of coronavirus and filovirus infections, we screened for the nucleic acids of the Měnglà virus (MLAV) and two coronaviruses (GCCDC1-CoV and HKU9-CoV) in anal swab samples taken from bats and for antibodies against these viruses in human serum samples. None of the serum samples were found to contain antibodies against the bat viruses. The GPS tracking results showed that the bats did not fly during the daytime and rarely flew to residential areas. The foraging range of individual bats also varied, with a mean cumulative nightly flight distance of 25.50 km and flight speed of up to 57.4 km/h. Taken together, these results suggest that the risk of direct transmission of GCCDC1-CoV, HKU9-CoV, and MLAV from E. spelaea bats to humans is very low under natural conditions.
蝙蝠被认为是多种病毒的宿主。广泛分布的长舌果蝠（ Eonycteris spelaea）被报道携带有丝状病毒和冠状病毒。但这些蝙蝠病毒向人类传播的风险尚缺乏相关研究。该研究使用微型GPS设备对中国云南勐腊地区的16只长舌果蝠进行追踪，以调查蝙蝠活动与人类活动时空重叠情况。并通过对蝙蝠肛拭子的病毒核酸检测明确了勐腊病毒（MLAV）和两种冠状病毒（GCCDC1-CoV和HKU9-CoV）在研究区域内长舌果蝠中的流行情况。通过病毒血清学检测，暂未发现周边居民的血清样本中含有针对这些蝙蝠病毒的抗体。GPS追踪数据显示，长舌果蝠白天在洞内栖息夜间外出觅食，且很少飞到居民区，蝙蝠活动与人类活动时空重叠性低。此外，长舌果蝠个体觅食区域和范围各不相同，夜间平均累计飞行距离为25.50公里，飞行速度最大可达57.4公里/小时。研究结果表明，在勐腊地区GCCDC1-CoV、HKU9-CoV和MLAV从长舌果蝠直接传播到人类的风险非常低。.
Keywords: Bats; Eonycteris spelaea; GCCDC1-CoV; GPS tracking; HKU9-CoV; Měnglà virus.