Transmission of the Ebola virus in the wild

Abstract

Introduction : The Ebola virus has been found in several non-human and unrelated mammalian species which has made it even more difficult to determine transmission routes. The bats are serve as a vector in the transmission to wild mammals and humans. Hypotheses connecting among wildlife species and humans are generally lacking. Ebola transmission is via bodily fluids of infected animals. Result and discussion : I propose a fruit-saliva connection as a major pathway among Ebola transmission. Bats do not eat large fruits whole ingesting the juices but ejecting the fibrous pulp, they also urinate and defecate during foraging bouts producing a near constant nightly “rain” Ebola virus fluids. Close contact among infected individual in a social group would likely spread the virus from infected to non-infected individuals rapidly. Under our “fruit rain” hypothesis, Ebola transmission to humans can occur by direct human consumption of infected fruit, through contaminated animals, and via water saliva infected.