title: Evidence for widespread infection of African bats with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever-like viruses.
abstract: Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a highly virulent tick-borne pathogen that causes hemorrhagic fever in humans. The geographic range of human CCHF cases largely reflects the presence of ticks. However, highly similar CCHFV lineages occur in geographically distant regions. Tick-infested migratory birds have been suggested, but not confirmed, to contribute to the dispersal. Bats have recently been shown to carry nairoviruses distinct from CCHFV. In order to assess the presence of CCHFV in a wide range of bat species over a wide geographic range, we analyzed 1,135 sera from 16 different bat species collected in Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Germany, and Panama. Using a CCHFV glycoprotein-based indirect immunofluorescence test (IIFT), we identified reactive antibodies in 10.0% (114/1,135) of tested bats, pertaining to 12/16 tested species. Depending on the species, 3.6%-42.9% of cave-dwelling bats and 0.6%-7.1% of foliage-living bats were seropositive (two-tailed t-test, p = 0.0447 cave versus foliage). 11/30 IIFT-reactive sera from 10 different African bat species had neutralizing activity in a virus-like particle assay. Neutralization of full CCHFV was confirmed in 5 of 7 sera. Widespread infection of cave-dwelling bats may indicate a role for bats in the life cycle and geographic dispersal of CCHFV.
authors.affiliation: University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: University of Marburg, Institute for Virology, Marburg, Germany.|Institute for Virology, FB10-Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devignot
authors.affiliation: EUROIMMUN AG, Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lattwein
authors.affiliation: University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.|German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF)-Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Victor Max
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Corman
authors.affiliation: Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon.
authors.forename: Gaël D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Maganga
authors.affiliation: Noctalis, Bad Segeberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gloza-Rausch
authors.affiliation: University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Tabea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Binger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic.|University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vallo
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Emmerich
authors.affiliation: University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.|Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama.
authors.forename: Veronika M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Cottontail
authors.affiliation: University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.|Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tschapka
authors.affiliation: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oppong
authors.affiliation: University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.|German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF)-Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan Felix
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Drexler
authors.affiliation: University of Marburg, Institute for Virology, Marburg, Germany.|Institute for Virology, FB10-Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Friedemann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon.|Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.affiliation: University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.|German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF)-Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Drosten
mesh_terms: D000350:Africa, Central / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D003225:Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D010176:Panama / Q000453:epidemiology