TY - JOUR
T1 - Seroprevalence of Filovirus Infection of Rousettus aegyptiacus Bats in Zambia
AU - Changula, Katendi
AU - Kajihara, Masahiro
AU - Mori-Kajihara, Akina
AU - Eto, Yoshiki
AU - Miyamoto, Hiroko
AU - Yoshida, Reiko
AU - Shigeno, Asako
AU - Hang'ombe, Bernard
AU - Qiu, Yongjin
AU - Mwizabi, Daniel
AU - Squarre, David
AU - Ndebe, Joseph
AU - Ogawa, Hirohito
AU - Harima, Hayato
AU - Simulundu, Edgar
AU - Moonga, Ladslav
AU - Kapila, Penjaninge
AU - Furuyama, Wakako
AU - Kondoh, Tatsunari
AU - Sato, Masahiro
AU - Takadate, Yoshihiro
AU - Kaneko, Chiho
AU - Nakao, Ryo
AU - Mukonka, Victor
AU - Mweene, Aaron
AU - Takada, Ayato
PY - 2018/6/8
Y1 - 2018/6/8
N2 - Bats are suspected to play important roles in the ecology of filoviruses, including ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. A cave-dwelling fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus, has been shown to be a reservoir of marburgviruses. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the viral glycoprotein antigen, we detected immunoglobulin G antibodies specific to multiple filoviruses in 158 of 290 serum samples of R aegyptiacus bats captured in Zambia during the years 2014-2017. In particular, 43.8% of the bats were seropositive to marburgvirus, supporting the notion that this bat species continuously maintains marburgviruses as a reservoir. Of note, distinct peaks of seropositive rates were repeatedly observed at the beginning of rainy seasons, suggesting seasonality of the presence of newly infected individuals in this bat population. These data highlight the need for continued monitoring of filovirus infection in this bat species even in countries where filovirus diseases have not been reported.
AB - Bats are suspected to play important roles in the ecology of filoviruses, including ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. A cave-dwelling fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus, has been shown to be a reservoir of marburgviruses. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the viral glycoprotein antigen, we detected immunoglobulin G antibodies specific to multiple filoviruses in 158 of 290 serum samples of R aegyptiacus bats captured in Zambia during the years 2014-2017. In particular, 43.8% of the bats were seropositive to marburgvirus, supporting the notion that this bat species continuously maintains marburgviruses as a reservoir. Of note, distinct peaks of seropositive rates were repeatedly observed at the beginning of rainy seasons, suggesting seasonality of the presence of newly infected individuals in this bat population. These data highlight the need for continued monitoring of filovirus infection in this bat species even in countries where filovirus diseases have not been reported.
U2 - 10.1093/infdis/jiy266
DO - 10.1093/infdis/jiy266
M3 - Article
C2 - 29889270
JO - Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - Journal of Infectious Diseases
SN - 0022-1899
ER -