We detected arenavirus RNA in 1.6% of 1,047 bats in Brazil that were sampled during 2007-2011. We identified Tacaribe virus in 2 Artibeus sp. bats and a new arenavirus species in Carollia perspicillata bats that we named Tietê mammarenavirus. Our results suggest that bats are an underrecognized arenavirus reservoir.
Keywords: Brazil; Tacaribe virus; Tietê mammarenavirus; Viruses; arenaviruses; bats; hemorrhagic fever; mammarenavirus; vector-borne infections; zoonoses.