article · Emerging infectious diseases
A large-scale survey conducted between 2015 and 2017 evaluated the prevalence of Ebola virus antibodies among bats in Guinea, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Testing 4,022 blood samples from more than 12 fruit-eating and 27 insect-eating bat species revealed low rates of seropositivity. Specifically, between 0.05 percent and 0.92 percent of bats tested positive for antibodies to Zaire Ebola virus, while up to 0.75 percent were positive for Sudan Ebola virus. Antibodies were identified in six frugivorous bat species and one insectivorous bat genus, including species widely distributed across Africa. In contrast, molecular tests on a subset of 665 samples found no detectable viral ribonucleic acid. These findings support the need for continuous monitoring of bats and other potential reservoir hosts to anticipate and prepare for future disease outbreaks.
Understanding which wild animals harbour Ebola viruses helps public health authorities anticipate where spillovers into human populations might occur. Identifying exposure in both fruit-eating and insect-eating bats across multiple African countries improves knowledge of potential reservoir species, supporting international preparedness and targeted disease surveillance efforts to mitigate future epidemics.
This early-stage ecological research provides baseline epidemiological data rather than a direct commercial product. The findings could inform the design and deployment of veterinary diagnostic tools and surveillance programmes run by public health agencies, wildlife authorities, and biosecurity organisations. Any operational deployment remains at an early stage, dependent on further surveillance and the development of validated field diagnostic tests.
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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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DOI: 10.3201/eid2412.180740
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