Detection of Japanese encephalitis virus antibodies in bats in Southern China.

In this study, 336 bats of eight species were collected during 2004-2007 in six provinces of Southern China. Antibodies against Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) were detected by ELISA in 43 of 336 (12.8%) serum samples. Among those ELISA-positive samples, 11 serum samples had neutralizing antibodies against JEV. No JEV was detected in brain and liver samples using specific real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. This is the first report of JEV neutralizing antibodies in bats in China, which reinforces that bats can be involved in the life cycle of this virus.