title: Screening for Viral Pathogens in African Simian Bushmeat Seized at A French Airport.
abstract: Illegal bushmeat traffic is an important threat to biodiversity conservation of several endangered species and may contribute to the emergence and spread of infectious diseases in humans. The hunting, manipulation and consumption of wildlife-based products, especially those of primate origin, may be a threat to human health; however, few studies have investigated the role of bushmeat trade and consumption as a potential source of human infections to date. In this study, we report the screening of viral pathogens in African simian game seized by French customs at Toulouse Blagnac Airport. Epifluorescence microscopy revealed the presence of virus-like particles in the samples, and further metagenomic sequencing of the DNA and RNA viromes confirmed the presence of sequences related to the Siphoviridae, Myoviridae and Podoviridae bacteriophage families; some of them infecting bacterial hosts that could be potentially pathogenic for humans. To increase the sensitivity of detection, twelve pan-generic PCRs targeting several viral zoonoses were performed, but no positive signal was detected. A large-scale inventory of bacteria, viruses and parasites is urgently needed to globally assess the risk for human health of the trade, manipulation and consumption of wildlife-related bushmeat.
authors.affiliation: URMITE UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Temmam
authors.affiliation: URMITE UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Davoust
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Epidemiology and Risk Analysis applied to veterinary sciences (UREAR-ULg), Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals and Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Liège, Belgium.|Wildlife Consultant L.L.C, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Anne-Lise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Chaber
authors.affiliation: National Veterinary School, INP, Toulouse Cedex 03, France.|Natural History Museum, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lignereux
authors.affiliation: URMITE UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michelle
authors.affiliation: URMITE UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monteil-Bouchard
authors.affiliation: URMITE UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.affiliation: URMITE UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desnues
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D059028:Airports; D000818:Animals; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003132:Commerce; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005602:France; D016679:Genome, Viral; D000882:Haplorhini / Q000821:virology*; D008403:Mass Screening; D008460:Meat / Q000821:virology*; D054892:Metagenome; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: bushmeat; epifluorescence microscopy; pan-generic PCR; viral metagenomics; virus; wild game; zoonoses