Dynamics of Antibodies to Ebolaviruses in an Eidolon helvum Bat Colony in Cameroon.

Amandine Esteban,Audrey Lacroix,Innocent Ndong Bass,Helene De Nys,Eitel Mpoudi Ngole,Maëliss Champagne,Dowbiss Djomsi,Jane-Francis Akoachere,Guillaume Thaurignac,Julien Cappelle,Ahidjo Ayouba,Mathieu Bourgarel,Eric Delaporte,Flaubert Mba Djonzo,Martine Peeters

doi:10.3390/v14030560

Abstract

The ecology of ebolaviruses is still poorly understood and the role of bats in outbreaks needs to be further clarified. Straw-colored fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) are the most common fruit bats in Africa and antibodies to ebolaviruses have been documented in this species. Between December 2018 and November 2019, samples were collected at approximately monthly intervals in roosting and feeding sites from 820 bats from an Eidolon helvum colony. Dried blood spots (DBS) were tested for antibodies to Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo ebolaviruses. The proportion of samples reactive with GP antigens increased significantly with age from 0–9/220 (0–4.1%) in juveniles to 26–158/225 (11.6–70.2%) in immature adults and 10–225/372 (2.7–60.5%) in adult bats. Antibody responses were lower in lactating females. Viral RNA was not detected in 456 swab samples collected from 152 juvenile and 214 immature adult bats. Overall, our study shows that antibody levels increase in young bats suggesting that seroconversion to Ebola or related viruses occurs in older juvenile and immature adult bats. Multiple year monitoring would be needed to confirm this trend. Knowledge of the periods of the year with the highest risk of Ebolavirus circulation can guide the implementation of strategies to mitigate spill-over events.

Highlights

IntroductionThe majority of Ebolavirus disease (EVD) outbreaks occurred in remote areas and remained geographically restricted, but the recent outbreaks in West Africa (December 2013 to March 2016) and in Eastern DemocraticRepublic of Congo (DRC) (August 2018 to June 2020) clearly showed that thousands of individuals can be infected over large geographic areas [3]
The role of bats as potential reservoir host species is well established for Marburgvirus (MARV) where a large diversity of Marburg virus (MARV) viruses has been amplified and sequenced from Rousettus aegyptiacus bats [14–16,31]
Several studies showed antibodies in at least eight frugivorous bat species and in insectivorous bats from the Molossidae family, suggesting that bats play a role in the ecology of ebolaviruses [11]

Summary

Introduction

The majority of EVD outbreaks occurred in remote areas and remained geographically restricted, but the recent outbreaks in West Africa (December 2013 to March 2016) and in Eastern DRC (August 2018 to June 2020) clearly showed that thousands of individuals can be infected over large geographic areas [3]. From these larger epidemics, it is evident that certain EVD outbreaks can be linked to individuals who recovered from the disease, even after more than five years [4,5]. It is evident that certain EVD outbreaks can be linked to individuals who recovered from the disease, even after more than five years [4,5]. 4.0/).

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Conclusion