Daubenton’s bat in Scotland

We have recently isolated European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) from a Daubenton’s bat (Myotis daubentonii) in West Lothian, Scotland. EBLV-2 has been isolated multiple times throughout England since 1996, but this is the first isolation of live virus from a bat in Scotland, seven years after the death of a Scottish bat conservation worker from infection with EBLV-2 in 2002. This finding reiterates the importance of public education regarding bat lyssavirus infections throughout the UK, and the importance of gaining a better understanding of bat lyssavirus dynamics in their natural hosts