Bat-associated hantaviruses have been detected in Asia, Africa and Europe. Recently, a novel hantavirus (Brno loanvirus, BRNV) was identified in common noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula) in the Czech Republic, but nothing is known about its geographical range and prevalence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the distribution and host specificity of BRNV by testing bats from neighbouring countries Germany, Austria and Poland. One thousand forty-seven bats representing 21 species from Germany, 464 bats representing 18 species from Austria and 77 bats representing 12 species from Poland were screened by L segment broad-spectrum nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or by BRNV-specific real-time RT-PCR. Three common noctules from Germany, one common noctule from Austria and three common noctules from Poland were positive in the hantavirus RNA screening. Conventional RT-PCR and primer walking resulted in the amplification of partial L segment and (almost) complete S and M segment coding sequences for samples from Germany and partial L segment sequences for samples from Poland. Phylogenetic analysis of these nucleotide sequences showed highest similarity to BRNV from Czech Republic. The exclusive detection of BRNV in common noctules from different countries suggests high host specificity. The RNA detection rate in common noctules ranged between 1 of 207 (0.5%; Austria), 3 of 245 (1.2%; Germany) and 3 of 20 (15%; Poland). In conclusion, this study demonstrates a broader distribution of BRNV in common noctules in Central Europe, but at low to moderate prevalence. Additional studies are needed to prove the zoonotic potential of this hantavirus and evaluate its transmission within bat populations.

Department of Virology National Veterinary Research Institute 57 Partyzantów Avenue 24 100 Pulawy Poland

German Center for Infection Research Partner Site Hamburg Lübeck Borstel Riems Südufer 10 17493 Greifswald Insel Riems Germany

Institute of Diagnostic Virology Friedrich Loeffler Institut Federal Research Institute for Animal Health Südufer 10 17493 Greifswald Insel Riems Germany

Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Bern Baltzerstrasse 6 3012 Bern Switzerland

Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology Friedrich Loeffler Institut Federal Research Institute for Animal Health Südufer 10 17493 Greifswald Insel Riems Germany

Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases Friedrich Loeffler Institut Federal Research Institute for Animal Health Südufer 10 17493 Greifswald Insel Riems Germany

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research Alfred Kowalke Straße 17 10315 Berlin Germany

Quartier Sorge Batiment Amphipole Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics 1015 Lausanne Switzerland

Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Savoyenstraße 1a 1160 Vienna Austria

Veterinary Research Institute Hudcova 296 70 621 00 Brno Czech Republic

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