Discordance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rifampin Susceptibility

habitat overlaps with that of pteropid bats in southern Vietnam. Previous studies showed that IgG ELISA results for NiV-positive fl ying foxes correlated well with NT results (3,4). However, in our study, discrepancies existed between NT results and NiV-N-ELISA and WB results. A reason for these differences could be that Nipah-like viruses are circulating among bats in Vietnam, producing antibodies that are crossreactive by ELISA and WB, but poorly cross-reactive by NT. The crossreactive antibodies were probably not directed against neutralizing epitopes. To date, no reports have been made of an increased number of febrile encephalitis cases among the residents in Hoa Binh and Dak Lak Provinces where seropositive bats were captured. The circulating viruses may lack the pathogenic potential of Hendra and Nipah viruses. A survey by questionnaire was conducted among residents of Dak Nong and Dak Lak Provinces, where NiV-N-ELISA–positive C. sphinx bats were captured, to determine the frequency of contact between humans and bats. Risk factors for infection were observed in this study, such as bat hunting and cooking and drinking bat blood. In such situations, persons have direct contact with bat body fl uids and feces and might be bitten during bat hunting. Thus, long-term systematic surveillance of bats is needed to determine the ecologic relationship between bats, humans, other animals, and the environment.