Serological Surveillance of Betacoronaviruses in Bat Guano Collectors: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-SARS-CoV-2 Emergence
Community-based serosurveillance for emerging zoonotic viruses can provide a powerful and cost-effective measurement of cryptic spillovers. Betacoronaviruses, including SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV, are known to infect bats and can cause severe respiratory illness in humans, yet remain under-su...
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2025-06-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/6/837 |
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| author | Sasiprapa Ninwattana Spencer L. Sterling Khwankamon Rattanatumhi Nattakarn Thippamom Piyapha Hirunpatrawong Pakamas Sangsub Thaniwan Cheun-Arom Dominic Esposito Chee Wah Tan Wee Chee Yap Feng Zhu Lin-Fa Wang Eric D. Laing Supaporn Wacharapluesadee Opass Putcharoen |
| author_facet | Sasiprapa Ninwattana Spencer L. Sterling Khwankamon Rattanatumhi Nattakarn Thippamom Piyapha Hirunpatrawong Pakamas Sangsub Thaniwan Cheun-Arom Dominic Esposito Chee Wah Tan Wee Chee Yap Feng Zhu Lin-Fa Wang Eric D. Laing Supaporn Wacharapluesadee Opass Putcharoen |
| author_sort | Sasiprapa Ninwattana |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Community-based serosurveillance for emerging zoonotic viruses can provide a powerful and cost-effective measurement of cryptic spillovers. Betacoronaviruses, including SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV, are known to infect bats and can cause severe respiratory illness in humans, yet remain under-surveyed in high-risk populations. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of betacoronaviruses in an occupational cohort in contact with bats before and after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. Serum samples from pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic were screened using antigen-based multiplex microsphere immunoassays (MMIAs) and a multiplex surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT). Pre-pandemic samples showed no SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, while post-pandemic samples from vaccinated participants displayed binding and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and a related bat CoV. Furthermore, one participant (1/237, 0.43%) had persistent antibodies against MERS-CoV in 2017, 2018 and 2021 but was seronegative in 2023, despite reporting no history of traveling abroad or severe pneumonia. The observed sustained antibody levels indicate a possible exposure to MERS-CoV or a MERS-CoV-like virus, although the etiology and clinical relevance of this finding remains unclear. Ongoing surveillance in high-risk populations remains crucial for understanding virus epidemiology and mitigating zoonotic transmission risk. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-03e43f6da9f04dd79707d66e530902c1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj-art-03e43f6da9f04dd79707d66e530902c12025-08-20T03:29:52ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152025-06-0117683710.3390/v17060837Serological Surveillance of Betacoronaviruses in Bat Guano Collectors: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-SARS-CoV-2 EmergenceSasiprapa Ninwattana0Spencer L. Sterling1Khwankamon Rattanatumhi2Nattakarn Thippamom3Piyapha Hirunpatrawong4Pakamas Sangsub5Thaniwan Cheun-Arom6Dominic Esposito7Chee Wah Tan8Wee Chee Yap9Feng Zhu10Lin-Fa Wang11Eric D. Laing12Supaporn Wacharapluesadee13Opass Putcharoen14Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok 10330, ThailandHenry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20817, USAThai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok 10330, ThailandThai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok 10330, ThailandThai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok 10330, ThailandThai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok 10330, ThailandDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University, Bangkok 10240, ThailandProtein Expression Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, NIH, Frederick, MD 21701, USAInfectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117545, SingaporeInfectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117545, SingaporeProgramme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, SingaporeProgramme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, SingaporeDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD 20814, USAThai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok 10330, ThailandThai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok 10330, ThailandCommunity-based serosurveillance for emerging zoonotic viruses can provide a powerful and cost-effective measurement of cryptic spillovers. Betacoronaviruses, including SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV, are known to infect bats and can cause severe respiratory illness in humans, yet remain under-surveyed in high-risk populations. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of betacoronaviruses in an occupational cohort in contact with bats before and after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. Serum samples from pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic were screened using antigen-based multiplex microsphere immunoassays (MMIAs) and a multiplex surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT). Pre-pandemic samples showed no SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, while post-pandemic samples from vaccinated participants displayed binding and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and a related bat CoV. Furthermore, one participant (1/237, 0.43%) had persistent antibodies against MERS-CoV in 2017, 2018 and 2021 but was seronegative in 2023, despite reporting no history of traveling abroad or severe pneumonia. The observed sustained antibody levels indicate a possible exposure to MERS-CoV or a MERS-CoV-like virus, although the etiology and clinical relevance of this finding remains unclear. Ongoing surveillance in high-risk populations remains crucial for understanding virus epidemiology and mitigating zoonotic transmission risk.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/6/837COVID-19SARS-CoV-2betacoronaviruseszoonotic spilloverssurrogate neutralizing antibodiesbinding antibodies |
| spellingShingle | Sasiprapa Ninwattana Spencer L. Sterling Khwankamon Rattanatumhi Nattakarn Thippamom Piyapha Hirunpatrawong Pakamas Sangsub Thaniwan Cheun-Arom Dominic Esposito Chee Wah Tan Wee Chee Yap Feng Zhu Lin-Fa Wang Eric D. Laing Supaporn Wacharapluesadee Opass Putcharoen Serological Surveillance of Betacoronaviruses in Bat Guano Collectors: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-SARS-CoV-2 Emergence Viruses COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 betacoronaviruses zoonotic spillovers surrogate neutralizing antibodies binding antibodies |
| title | Serological Surveillance of Betacoronaviruses in Bat Guano Collectors: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-SARS-CoV-2 Emergence |
| title_full | Serological Surveillance of Betacoronaviruses in Bat Guano Collectors: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-SARS-CoV-2 Emergence |
| title_fullStr | Serological Surveillance of Betacoronaviruses in Bat Guano Collectors: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-SARS-CoV-2 Emergence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Serological Surveillance of Betacoronaviruses in Bat Guano Collectors: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-SARS-CoV-2 Emergence |
| title_short | Serological Surveillance of Betacoronaviruses in Bat Guano Collectors: Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-SARS-CoV-2 Emergence |
| title_sort | serological surveillance of betacoronaviruses in bat guano collectors pre covid 19 pandemic and post sars cov 2 emergence |
| topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 betacoronaviruses zoonotic spillovers surrogate neutralizing antibodies binding antibodies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/6/837 |
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