A novel poxvirus isolated from an Egyptian fruit bat in Israel.

An Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) from the Zoological Gardens, at Tel Aviv, Israel, showed pox-like clinical signs including vesicular and nodular skin lesions on the wings. Cell culture isolation, histopathology, electron microscopy and molecular analysis, revealed the presence of a novel bat poxvirus. Future research is needed to determine whether this virus can affect human health.

Isolation and genetic characterization of a Bartonella strain closely related to Bartonella tribocorum and Bartonella elizabethae in Israeli commensal rats.

Ten Bartonella isolates were cultured from blood drawn from black rats (Rattus rattus) captured in the Tel Aviv area. Genetic characterization included amplification and sequencing of five gene fragments including the ribC, rpoB, 16S, groEL, and gltA and the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region. Sequence comparisons showed that all 10 isolates were identical in all genes studied comprising a total of 3,873 bp analyzed.