STUDIES ON THE PATHOGENESIS OF RABIES IN INSECTIVOROUS BATS

Studies on the influence of environmental temperature on the pathogenesis of rabies in two species of experimentally infected Chiroptera, the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida mexicana) and the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), provided evidence that little or no viral multiplication occurs in the inactive host during experimentally induced hibernation. When inoculated animals are wakened from hibernation by transfer to a warm room, virus previously in "cold storage" multiplies, reaching detectable levels in various tissues. Similar results were obtained with two strains of rabies virus, a canine rabies street virus which produced a fatal infection in man and a strain isolated from the pooled brown fat of naturally infected little brown bats. However, certain differences in the characteristics of these virus strains were observed. The canine rabies virus strain produced an encephalitic disease in mice and overt symptoms in bats; the bat rabies virus producing an encephalomyelitic disease in mice and infrequent symptoms in bats. The bat rabies virus had a greater predilection for brown adipose tissue than the canine strain. Results obtained with the bat rabies virus in hibernating animals indicate that after a period of latency in a dormant animal activated virus may reach the salivary gland more rapidly, with greater frequency, and attain higher concentrations than in animals which have not experienced a period of hibernation. The significance of these results as they relate to the natural history of bat rabies is discussed.