Lieu: Brunoy

Abstract: The Leptonicterus curacaoe (long nose bat) is one of the larger bat species on the islands of Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba with a broad range reaching including Venezuela and Colombia. It is proven in March 2014 that they migrate between the islands and to main land Venezuela (J. Nassar personal comm). It is a nectarivorious bat and a key pollinator for the columnar cacti in the region. There are several lyssavirus strains found in South America and the Caribbean. There is a potential risk native bat species and their vector for inter species disease transmission on the Carribean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. Bats were captured in 4 main caves sites on each island with a mist net. The occurrence of external parasites, and abnormal clinical features indicating disease in the bats. Blood samples were taken and FTA cards were used to collect the blood samples. These cards were send to CVI. Approximately 300 blood cards have been evaluated and so for all have been tested negative for lyssavirus.