Abstract
This study aimed to determine the vector competence of bat-associated nycteribiid flies (Eucamsipoda africana) for Marburg virus (MARV) in the Egyptian Rousette Bat (ERB), Rousettus aegyptiacus. In flies fed on subcutaneously infected ERBs and tested from 3 to 43 days post infection (dpi), MARV was detected only in those that took blood during the peak of viremia, 5–7 dpi. Seroconversion did not occur in control bats in contact with MARV-infected bats infested with bat flies up to 43 days post exposure. In flies inoculated intra-coelomically with MARV and tested on days 0–29 post inoculation, only those assayed on day 0 and day 7 after inoculation were positive by q-RT-PCR, but the virus concentration was consistent with that of the inoculum. Bats remained MARV-seronegative up to 38 days after infestation and exposure to inoculated flies. The first filial generation pupae and flies collected at different times during the experiments were all negative by q-RT-PCR. Of 1693 nycteribiid flies collected from a wild ERB colony in Mahune Cave, South Africa where the enzootic transmission of MARV occurs, only one (0.06%) tested positive for the presence of MARV RNA. Our findings seem to demonstrate that bat flies do not play a significant role in the transmission and enzootic maintenance of MARV. However, ERBs eat nycteribiid flies; thus, the mechanical transmission of the virus through the exposure of damaged mucous membranes and/or skin to flies engorged with contaminated blood cannot be ruled out.
Highlights
Marburg virus (MARV), species Marburg marburgvirus (Filoviridae) [1], causes sporadic but often fatal Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in humans [2]
Results of recent studies in South Africa demonstrate enzootic and very efficient marburgvirus circulation in Egyptian Rousette Bat (ERB) roosting at Matlapitsi Cave, which is located in the rural area of the Limpopo province of the country [39,74]
A novel fusogenic orthoreovirus and a novel orthobunyavirus have been isolated from E. africana collected from ERBs in this cave [75,76]
Summary
Marburg virus (MARV), species Marburg marburgvirus (Filoviridae) [1], causes sporadic but often fatal Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in humans [2]. Fourteen outbreaks of MVD have been reported, most occurring in sub-Saharan Africa [2,3], but a single. The first recognised outbreak of MVD in Africa occurred in 1975 [8] with the largest and most deadly reported from Angola in 2004–2005, with a case-fatality rate of 90% [9]. The results of ecological, epidemiological, and experimental studies implicate the ERB as the prime reservoir host for marburgviruses [13,14,27,28,29,30,31,32,33].The roosting habitats of the Egyptian Rousette
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