Characterisation of novel paramyxoviruses isolated from pteropid bat urine

Abstract

Bats are a significant source of zoonotic viruses including the highly pathogenic Hendra and Nipah viruses. Virus discovery efforts in bats have demonstrated many novel viruses but the zoonotic potential of many of these viruses remains unknown. This thesis describes the analysis of bat urine samples resulting in the detection of multiple viral sequences and the isolation of novel viruses. In addition, it details the characterisation of two novel paramyxoviruses, Teviot virus and Alston virus, through whole genome sequencing, analysis of antigenic relatedness, growth kinetics assays and animal infection trials.