Novel highly divergent reassortant bat rotaviruses in Cameroon, without evidence of zoonosis.
Bats are an important reservoir for zoonotic viruses. To date, only three RVA strains have been reported in bats in Kenya and China. In the current study we investigated the genetic diversity of RVAs in fecal samples from 87 straw-colored fruit bats living in close contact with humans in Cameroon using viral metagenomics. Five (near) complete RVA genomes were obtained. A single RVA strain showed a partial relationship with the Kenyan bat RVA strain, whereas the other strains were completely novel. Only the VP7 and VP4 genes showed significant variability, indicating the occurrence of frequent reassortment events. Comparing these bat RVA strains with currently used human RVA screening primers indicated that most of the novel VP7 and VP4 segments would not be detected in routine epidemiological screening studies. Therefore, novel consensus screening primers were developed and used to screen samples from infants with gastroenteritis living in close proximity with the studied bat population. Although RVA infections were identified in 36% of the infants, there was no evidence of zoonosis. This study identified multiple novel bat RVA strains, but further epidemiological studies in humans will have to assess if these viruses have the potential to cause gastroenteritis in humans.
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium.|KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory for Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Leuven, Belgium.
Claude Kwe
CK
Yinda
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium.
Mark
M
Zeller
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium.|KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory for Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Leuven, Belgium.
Nádia
N
Conceição-Neto
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory for Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Leuven, Belgium.
Piet
P
Maes
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium.
Ward
W
Deboutte
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium.
Leen
L
Beller
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium.
Elisabeth
E
Heylen
University of Buea, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biotechnology Unit, Molecular and cell biology laboratory, Buea, Cameroon.
Stephen Mbigha
SM
Ghogomu
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory for Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Leuven, Belgium.
Marc
M
Van Ranst
KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium.
Jelle
J
Matthijnssens
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