Nipah Virus Shedding in Urine from Fruit Bats, Sri Lanka, 2018–2019

A research team confirmed the presence of Nipah virus in Sri Lanka in fruit bats of the species Pteropus medius, which are a known natural reservoir of this virus. Nipah virus causes severe outbreaks in humans with a high mortality rate – the reported case-fatality rate for Nipah encephalitis is 61 percent. The virus is transmitted from bats to humans through contact with bat urine, consumption of contaminated palm sap, or through infected intermediate hosts. Between March 2018 and June 2019, researchers monitored bat colonies at four locations in Sri Lanka and collected urine samples. In total, they collected 2,218 urine samples, which were combined into 32 pools. Using real-time PCR methods, they detected positive samples for Nipah virus. The genetic sequences were related to virus strains from outbreaks in southern India.