Survey of Ebola Viruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bats in Guinea, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2015–2017

Hélène M de Nys; Placide Mbala Kingebeni; Alpha Keita; Christelle Butel; Guillaume Thaurignac; Christian Julián Villabona-Arenas; Thomas Lemarcis; Mare Geraerts; Nicole Vidal; Amandine Esteban; Mathieu Bourgarel; François Roger; Fabian Leendertz; Ramadan Diallo; Simon-Pierre Ndimbo-Kumugo; Justus Nsio-Mbeta; Nikki Tagg; Lamine Koivogui; Abdoulaye Touré; Eric Delaporte; Steve Ahuka-Mundeke; Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum; Eitel Mpoudi-Ngole; Ahidjo Ayouba; Martine Peeters

doi:10.3201/eid2412.180740

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Survey of Ebola Viruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bats in Guinea, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2015–2017

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Survey of Ebola Viruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bats in Guinea, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2015–2017

Hélène M de Nys, Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Alpha Keita, Christelle Butel, Guillaume Thaurignac, Christian Julián Villabona-Arenas, Thomas Lemarcis, Mare Geraerts, Nicole Vidal, Amandine Esteban, …

Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol.24(12), pp.2228-2240

12/2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2412.180740

PMCID: PMC6256401

PMID: 30307845

Abstract

EVD

Ebola

Ebola virus

Ebola virus disease

Ebola virus infection

Eidolon helvum

Guinea

Hypsignathus monstrosus

Lissonycteris angolensis

Mops sp.

Zaire strain

cross-reactivity

cutoff

ecology

frugivorous bats

survey

the Democratic Republic of the Congo

viruses

zoonoses

Africa

Cameroon

Epomophorus gambianus

Luminex

Micropteropus pusillus

Rousettus aegyptiacus

Sudan strain

bats

insectivorous bats

serology

seroprevalence

Animal Diseases/epidemiology*

Animal Diseases/history

Disease Outbreaks

Ebolavirus*/classification

Ebolavirus*/genetics

Ebolavirus*/immunology

Geography, Medical

Guinea/epidemiology

Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola/veterinary*

History, 21st Century

Public Health Surveillance

Seroepidemiologic Studies

Animal Diseases/immunology

Animal Diseases/virology*

Animals

Antibodies, Viral

Cameroon/epidemiology

Chiroptera/virology*

Democratic Republic of the Congo/epidemiology

To clarify the role of bats in the ecology of Ebola viruses, we assessed the prevalence of Ebola virus antibodies in a large-scale sample of bats collected during 2015-2017 from countries in Africa that have had previous Ebola outbreaks (Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo) or are at high risk for outbreaks (Cameroon). We analyzed 4,022 blood samples of bats from >12 frugivorous and 27 insectivorous species; 2-37 (0.05%-0.92%) bats were seropositive for Zaire and 0-30 (0%-0.75%) bats for Sudan Ebola viruses. We observed Ebola virus antibodies in 1 insectivorous bat genus and 6 frugivorous bat species. Certain bat species widespread across Africa had serologic evidence of Zaire and Sudan Ebola viruses. No viral RNA was detected in the subset of samples tested (n = 665). Ongoing surveillance of bats and other potential animal reservoirs are required to predict and prepare for future outbreaks.

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Title: Survey of Ebola Viruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bats in Guinea, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2015–2017
Creators - without role: Hélène M de Nys - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Placide Mbala Kingebeni - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Alpha Keita - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Christelle Butel - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Guillaume Thaurignac - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Christian Julián Villabona-Arenas - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Thomas Lemarcis - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Mare Geraerts - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Nicole Vidal - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Amandine Esteban - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Mathieu Bourgarel - Animal, Santé, Territoires, Risques et Ecosystèmes
François Roger - Animal, Santé, Territoires, Risques et Ecosystèmes
Fabian Leendertz - Robert Koch Institute
Ramadan Diallo - Ministère de L'Elevage et des Productions Animales [Conakry, Guinée]
Simon-Pierre Ndimbo-Kumugo - National Institute of Biomedical Research
Justus Nsio-Mbeta - Direction de la Lutte contre la Maladie [Kinshasa, Cameroun]
Nikki Tagg - Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp
Lamine Koivogui - Institut National de Santé Publique
Abdoulaye Touré - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Eric Delaporte - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Steve Ahuka-Mundeke - National Institute of Biomedical Research
Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum - National Institute of Biomedical Research [Congo Kinshasa]
Eitel Mpoudi-Ngole - Institut de Recherches Médicales et d’Etudes des Plantes Médicinales
Ahidjo Ayouba - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Martine Peeters - Université de Montpellier, Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Publication Details: Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol.24(12), pp.2228-2240
Grant note: This work was supported in part by grants from Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, the Ebola Task Force, REACTing, EBO-SURSY project funded by the European Union, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), and Christophe Mérieux Prize 2015 (to J.-J.M.T.). A.K.K. was supported by a fellowship from the IRD and the University of Montpellier (MUSE, ANR-16-IDEX-0006). C.-J.V.-A. was supported by a fellowship from IRD, Labex EpiGenMed via the National Research Agency, Programme for Future Investment (ANR-10-LABX-12-01), and the University of Montpellier.
Identifiers: 9936798909311
Academic Unit: Recherches translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infect. Endém. émerg. - TransVIHMI
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Local Fields: hal-01941405