Lagos bat virus
Lagos bat virus (LBV) is a lyssavirus of southern and central Africa that causes a rabies-like illness in mammals. It was first isolated from a fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) from Lagos Island, Nigeria in 1956. Brain samples from the bat showed poor cross-reactivity to rabies antibodies but the virus was found to be closely related to the rabies virus. This was the first discovery of a rabies-related virus. Until this time, rabies was thought to have a single causal agent. Four more lyssavirus species and numerous tentative species have since been identified.