Ecological vaccination: A strategy to prevent zoonotic spillover from bats

TL;DR

A new vaccination strategy for wild bats can reduce zoonotic spillover risks without harming bat populations.

Contribution

A multiroute vaccination platform using mosquitoes and saline traps to immunize wild bats is introduced.

Findings

Vaccine-carrying mosquitoes conferred protection in rodent and bat models.

Saline traps achieved comparable immune protection through oral vaccination.

Cohabitation with vaccine-carrying mosquitoes elicited strong immune responses in bats under simulated natural conditions.

Abstract

Bats serve as critical reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens but also play essential ecological roles. To mitigate spillover risks without harming bat populations, we developed a multiroute vaccination strategy using recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV)–based vaccines. Vaccine-carrying mosquitoes delivered rVSV-based rabies and Nipah vaccines, conferring protection in rodent and bat models. Under simulated natural conditions, cohabitation with vaccine-carrying mosquitoes elicited strong immune responses in bats, supporting feasibility beyond laboratory settings. As a complementary approach, saline traps exploiting bats’ mineral-seeking behavior achieved comparable immune protection through oral vaccination. Together, these results demonstrate a flexible, ecology-informed vaccination platform for immunizing wild bats, offering a scalable strategy to reduce zoonotic spillover risk while supporting bat conservation.

Harnessing natural behaviors to vaccinate wild bats reduces zoonotic spillover risk while supporting conservation.

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