Sean Nashold Erik K. Hofmeister Ariel Elizabeth Leon Elizabeth Falendysz Hon S. Ip Carly M. Malave Tonie E. Rocke Mariano Carossino Udeni B.R. Balasuriya Susan Knowles Jeffrey S. Hall 2024 <p><span>It has been proposed that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus that spread through human populations as a pandemic originated in Asian bats. There is concern that infected humans could transmit the virus to native North American bats; therefore, the susceptibility of several North American bat species to the pandemic virus has been experimentally assessed. Big brown bats (</span><i>Eptesicus fuscus</i><span>) were shown to be resistant to infection by SARS-CoV-2, whereas Mexican free-tailed bats (</span><i>Tadarida brasiliensis</i><span>) became infected and orally excreted moderate amounts of virus for up to 18 d postinoculation. Little brown bats (</span><i>Myotis lucifugus</i><span>) frequently contact humans, and their populations are threatened over much of their range due to white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that is continuing to spread across North America. We experimentally challenged little brown bats with SARS-CoV-2 to determine their susceptibility and host potential and whether the virus presents an additional risk to this species. We found that this species was resistant to infection by SARS-CoV-2. These findings provide reassurance to wildlife rehabilitators, biologists, conservation scientists, and the public at large who are concerned with possible transmission of this virus to threatened bat populations.</span></p> application/pdf 10.7589/JWD-D-23-00114 en Wildlife Disease Association Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) are resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection article