Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses harboured and assumed to be
transmitted to humans by rodents. Numerous species of hantaviruses have
been identified in a broad range of vertebrate animals expanding the
potential reservoirs and range of these viruses. To elucidate ecological
patterns influencing hantavirus infection among bats and then the
dynamics of hantavirus transmission in south-eastern Brazil, 275 bats
were captured from February 2012 to April 2014, in distinct landscapes
with varying forest amounts. We investigated potential ecological
correlates related to hantavirus infection among 53 bats tested for
serological evidence of infection. Areas with low intermediate values
for species diversity and high dominance of species had higher infection
counts than other areas, but the correlations were non-significant. With
intermediate amounts of percentage of forest cover presented higher
infection counts were observed. More studies should address differences
in probabilities of hantavirus infection across species since they may
have different ecological requirements. We report potential ecological
correlates for hantavirus infection among bats and provide data on bat
diversity and distribution across seven fragmented landscapes
compositions in the Neotropics. We suggest that bats may play an
underestimated role in the interspecies transmission dynamics of
hantaviruses, especially within the context of fragmented landscapes.