Fruit bats as reservoirs of Ebola virus.
The first recorded human outbreak of Ebola virus was in 1976, but the wild reservoir of this virus is still unknown. Here we test for Ebola in more than a thousand small vertebrates that were collected during Ebola outbreaks in humans and great apes between 2001 and 2003 in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. We find evidence of asymptomatic infection by Ebola virus in three species of fruit bat, indicating that these animals may be acting as a reservoir for this deadly virus.
Leroy
Eric M
EM
Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, BP 769 Franceville, Gabon. eric.leroy@ird.fr
Kumulungui
Brice
B
Pourrut
Xavier
X
Rouquet
Pierre
P
Hassanin
Alexandre
A
Yaba
Philippe
P
Délicat
André
A
Paweska
Janusz T
JT
Gonzalez
Jean-Paul
JP
Swanepoel
Robert
R
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D018420:Ape Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D003223:Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology*; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D005681:Gabon / Q000453:epidemiology; D006071:Gorilla gorilla / Q000821:virology; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000821:virology; D012621:Seasons; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral