Venezuelan encephalitis virus infection in neotropical bats. II. Experimental infections.

Eighty-nine Neotropical bats of five species were inoculated subcutaneously with epizootic or enzootic strains of Venezuelan encephalitis (VE) virus. Viremia was detected in 92.5% of all bats, but no illness attributable to virus infection was observed. Detectable viremias averaged slightly over 4 days in Artibeus jamaicensis and A. lituratus, and 2.8 days in Phyllostomus discolor, and maximal viremia titers in these three species averaged 6.9, …