Fruit bats as a natural reservoir of zoonotic viruses

Nipah and Hendra are two related viruses of the Paramyxoviridae family that have their reservoir in large Pteropus fruit bats. Both viruses are two new zoonotic viruses that have emerged in recent years. Both are of the Paramyxoviridae family, sharing many similar characteristics. Because of their homology, a new genus called Henipavirus (Hendra + Nipah) was created for these two viruses. Human disease manifests most often as acute encephalitis, which can be late-onset or relapsing, or pneumonia, with high mortality. Transmission from bats to human includes direct spread from consumption of food contaminated by infected bat secretions, and contact with infected animals; human-to-human spread can also occur.

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Persistence of Multiple Paramyxoviruses in a Closed Captive Colony of Fruit Bats (Eidolon helvum)

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13081659 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 1659 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Louise Gibson ◽

Maria Puig Ribas ◽

James Kemp ◽

Olivier Restif ◽

Richard D. Suu-Ire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Emerging Diseases ◽

Fruit Bats ◽

Fatal Disease ◽

Zoonotic Viruses ◽

High Incidence ◽

Natural Hosts ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Eidolon Helvum

Bats have been identified as the natural hosts of several emerging zoonotic viruses, including paramyxoviruses, such as Hendra and Nipah viruses, that can cause fatal disease in humans. Recently, African fruit bats with populations that roost in or near urban areas have been shown to harbour a great diversity of paramyxoviruses, posing potential spillover risks to public health. Understanding the circulation of these viruses in their reservoir populations is essential to predict and prevent future emerging diseases. Here, we identify a high incidence of multiple paramyxoviruses in urine samples collected from a closed captive colony of circa 115 straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum). The sequences detected have high nucleotide identities with those derived from free ranging African fruit bats and form phylogenetic clusters with the Henipavirus genus, Pararubulavirus genus and other unclassified paramyxoviruses. As this colony had been closed for 5 years prior to this study, these results indicate that within-host paramyxoviral persistence underlies the role of bats as reservoirs of these viruses.

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Marburg Virus Persistence on Fruit as a Plausible Route of Bat to Primate Filovirus Transmission

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13122394 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 2394

Author(s):

Brian R. Amman ◽

Amy J. Schuh ◽

César G. Albariño ◽

Jonathan S. Towner

Keyword(s):

Virus Isolation ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Marburg Virus ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Fruit Bats ◽

Zoonotic Virus ◽

Natural Reservoir ◽

Qrt Pcr ◽

Virus Rna ◽

Sub Saharan

Marburg virus (MARV), the causative agent of Marburg virus disease, emerges sporadically in sub-Saharan Africa and is often fatal in humas. The natural reservoir for this zoonotic virus is the frugivorous Egyptian rousette bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) that when infected, sheds virus in the highest amounts in oral secretions and urine. Being fruit bats, these animals forage nightly for ripened fruit throughout the year, including those types often preferred by humans. During feeding, they continually discard partially eaten fruit on the ground that could then be consumed by other Marburg virus susceptible animals or humans. In this study, using qRT-PCR and virus isolation, we tested fruit discarded by Egyptian rousette bats experimentally infected with a natural bat isolate of Marburg virus. We then separately tested viral persistence on fruit varieties commonly cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa using a recombinant Marburg virus expressing the fluorescent ZsGreen1. Marburg virus RNA was repeatedly detected on fruit in the food bowls of the infected bats and viable MARV was recovered from inoculated fruit for up to 6 h.

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NATURAL RESERVOIR OF FILOVIRUSES AND TYPES OF ASSOCIATED EPIDEMIC OUTBREAKS IN AFRICA

Annals of the Russian academy of medical sciences ◽

10.15690/vramn803 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 72 (2) ◽

pp. 112-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. Yu. Shchelkanov ◽

N. Magassouba ◽

V. G. Dedkov ◽

G. A. Shipulin ◽

I. V. Galkina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Homo Sapiens ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Fruit Bats ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Natural Reservoir ◽

Hemorrhagic Fevers ◽

Rural And Urban ◽

Zaire Ebolavirus ◽

Basic Characteristics ◽

Etiological Agents

Family Filoviridae includes a set of etiological agents of human hemorrhagic fevers distributed in Africa: Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV), Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV), Marburg marburgvirus (MMARV). Historiography and recent taxonomical structure of Filoviridae family are considered in the review. The discussed data of laboratory and ecological-virological field researches demonstrate the presence of a natural reservoir of filoviruses among fruit-bats (Chiroptera, Megachiroptera) which carry filovirus infection without clinical signs but allocate viruses with urine, saliva, excrements, and sperm, as well as contain viruses in blood and internals. The potential hosts of filoviruses are various mammal species including the higher primacies (Anthropoidea) and the humans (Homo sapiens sapiens). A brief comparison of anatomic and morphologic features of fruit bats and bats (Chiroptera, Microchiroptera) belonging to another suborder of chiropterans is presented. The description of the basic characteristics of the four types of epidemic outbreaks linked with Filoviridae-associated fevers — speleological (from Ancient Greek σπήλαιον — cave), forest, rural, and urban are given; their possible transformation directions are considered as well.

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Persistence of Multiple Paramyxoviruses in a Closed Captive Colony of Fruit Bats (Eidolon helvum)

10.20944/preprints202107.0461.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Louise Gibson ◽

Maria Puig Rebas ◽

James Kemp ◽

Olivier Restif ◽

Richard D. Suu-Ire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Emerging Diseases ◽

Fruit Bats ◽

Fatal Disease ◽

Zoonotic Viruses ◽

High Incidence ◽

Natural Hosts ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Eidolon Helvum

Bats have been identified as the natural hosts of several emerging zoonotic viruses, including paramyxoviruses, such as Hendra and Nipah viruses, that can cause fatal disease in humans. Recently, African fruit bats with populations that roost in or near urban areas have been shown to harbour a great diversity of paramyxoviruses, posing potential spillover risks to public health. Understanding the circulation of these viruses in their reservoir populations is essential to predict and prevent future emerging diseases. Here, we identify a high incidence of multiple paramyxoviruses in urine samples collected from a closed, captive colony of circa. 115 straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum). The sequences detected have high nucleotide identities with those derived from free ranging African fruit bats and form phylogenetic clusters with the Henipavirus genus, Pararubulavirus genus and other unclassified paramyxoviruses. As this colony had been closed for 5 years prior to this study, these results indicate that within-host paramyxoviral persistence underlies the role of bats as reservoirs of these viruses.

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DIVISION INTO DISTRICTS OF AFRICAN NATURAL FOCI PROVINCE IN THE RELATION TO FILOVIRIDAE-ASSOCIATED FEVERS

Annals of the Russian academy of medical sciences ◽

10.15690/vramn804 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 72 (5) ◽

pp. 323-335

Author(s):

M. Yu. Shchelkanov ◽

V. G. Dedkov ◽

I. V. Galkina ◽

N’F. Magassouba ◽

N. Zoumanigui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Africa ◽

Eastern Africa ◽

Fruit Bats ◽

Natural Focus ◽

Species List ◽

Natural Reservoir ◽

South Eastern ◽

Natural Foci

The review presents the following division of the African natural foci province into districts: I. Upper Guinea natural focus region includes the following individual natural foci: I.1. Kazamans; I.2. North Guinea; I.3. Volta; I.4. Adamawa; I.5. Sao Tome. II. Central Africa: II.1. Southern Guinea; II.2. Katanga; II.3. Congo; II.4. Azande; II.5. Ruwenzori. III. South-Eastern Africa: III.1. Mafungabusi; III.2. Drakensberg; III.3. Comoros; III.4. Madagascar; III.5. Seychelles; III.6. Mascarenes. For each natural focus the article describes the characteristic landscapes and species list of fruit-bats (Chiroptera, Megachiroptera) which are natural reservoir for viruses belonging to Filoviridae family, the types of epidemic outbreaks and the intensity of filovirus circulation. Possible explanations of narrowness of filoviruses areal in comparison with fruit-bats areal in Africa are discussed.

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Experimental Lagos bat virus infection in straw-colored fruit bats: A suitable model for bat rabies in a natural reservoir species

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽

10.1371/journal.pntd.0008898 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (12) ◽

pp. e0008898

Author(s):

Lineke Begeman ◽

Richard Suu-Ire ◽

Ashley C. Banyard ◽

Christian Drosten ◽

Elisa Eggerbauer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reservoir Host ◽

Productive Infection ◽

Suitable Model ◽

Fruit Bats ◽

Strong Immune Response ◽

Infectious Dose ◽

Natural Reservoir ◽

Viral Excretion ◽

Bat Virus ◽

Bat Rabies

Rabies is a fatal neurologic disease caused by lyssavirus infection. Bats are important natural reservoir hosts of various lyssaviruses that can be transmitted to people. The epidemiology and pathogenesis of rabies in bats are poorly understood, making it difficult to prevent zoonotic transmission. To further our understanding of lyssavirus pathogenesis in a natural bat host, an experimental model using straw-colored fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) and Lagos bat virus, an endemic lyssavirus in this species, was developed. To determine the lowest viral dose resulting in 100% productive infection, bats in five groups (four bats per group) were inoculated intramuscularly with one of five doses, ranging from 100.1 to 104.1 median tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50). More bats died due to the development of rabies after the middle dose (102.1 TCID50, 4/4 bats) than after lower (101.1, 2/4; 101.1, 2/4) or higher (103.1, 2/4; 104.1, 2/4) doses of virus. In the two highest dose groups, 4/8 bats developed rabies. Of those bats that remained healthy 3/4 bats seroconverted, suggesting that high antigen loads can trigger a strong immune response that abrogates a productive infection. In contrast, in the two lowest dose groups, 3/8 bats developed rabies, 1/8 remained healthy and seroconverted and 4/8 bats remained healthy and did not seroconvert, suggesting these doses are too low to reliably induce infection. The main lesion in all clinically affected bats was meningoencephalitis associated with lyssavirus-positive neurons. Lyssavirus antigen was detected in tongue epithelium (5/11 infected bats) rather than in salivary gland epithelium (0/11), suggesting viral excretion via the tongue. Thus, intramuscular inoculation of 102.1 TCID50 of Lagos bat virus into straw-colored fruit bats is a suitable model for lyssavirus associated bat rabies in a natural reservoir host, and can help with the investigation of lyssavirus infection dynamics in bats.

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Egyptian Fruit Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) Were Resistant to Experimental Inoculation with Avian-Origin Influenza A Virus of Subtype H9N2, But Are Susceptible to Experimental Infection with Bat-Borne H9N2 Virus

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13040672 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 672

Author(s):

Nico Joel Halwe ◽

Marco Gorka ◽

Bernd Hoffmann ◽

Melanie Rissmann ◽

Angele Breithaupt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influenza A Virus ◽

Influenza A ◽

H9n2 Virus ◽

Productive Infection ◽

Fruit Bats ◽

Influenza A Viruses ◽

New Host ◽

H9n2 Subtype ◽

Fruit Bat ◽

Zoonotic Viruses

Influenza A viruses (IAV) of subtype H9N2, endemic in world-wide poultry holdings, are reported to cause spill-over infections to pigs and humans and have also contributed substantially to recent reassortment-derived pre-pandemic zoonotic viruses of concern, such as the Asian H7N9 viruses. Recently, a H9N2 bat influenza A virus was found in Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus), raising the question of whether this bat species is a suitable host for IAV. Here, we studied the susceptibility, pathogenesis and transmission of avian and bat-related H9N2 viruses in this new host. In a first experiment, we oronasally inoculated six Egyptian fruit bats with an avian-related H9N2 virus (A/layer chicken/Bangladesh/VP02-plaque/2016 (H9N2)). In a second experiment, six Egyptian fruit bats were inoculated with the newly discovered bat-related H9N2 virus (A/bat/Egypt/381OP/2017 (H9N2)). While R. aegyptiacus turned out to be refractory to an infection with H9N2 avian-type, inoculation with the bat H9N2 subtype established a productive infection in all inoculated animals with a detectable seroconversion at day 21 post-infection. In conclusion, Egyptian fruit bats are most likely not susceptible to the avian H9N2 subtype, but can be infected with fruit bat-derived H9N2. H9-specific sero-reactivities in fruit bats in the field are therefore more likely the result of contact with a bat-adapted H9N2 strain.

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Full genome Nobecovirus sequences from Malagasy fruit bats define a unique evolutionary history for this coronavirus clade

10.1101/2021.09.29.462406 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gwenddolen Kettenburg ◽

Amy L Kistler ◽

Hafaliana Christian Ranaivoson ◽

Santino Andry ◽

Joseph L DeRisi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Full Genome ◽

Fruit Bats ◽

Fecal Samples ◽

Fruit Bat ◽

Long Term Study ◽

Zoonotic Viruses ◽

Globally Distributed ◽

Bat Coronavirus ◽

Generation Sequencing

Bats are natural reservoirs for both Alpha- and Betacoronaviruses and the hypothesized original hosts of five of seven known zoonotic coronaviruses. To date, the vast majority of bat coronavirus research has been concentrated in Asia, though coronaviruses are globally distributed; indeed, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2-related Betacoronaviruses in the subgenus Sarbecovirus have been identified circulating in Rhinolophid bats in both Africa and Europe, despite the relative dearth of surveillance in these regions. As part of a long-term study examining the dynamics of potentially zoonotic viruses in three species of endemic Madagascar fruit bat (Pteropus rufus, Eidolon dupreanum, Rousettus madagascariensis), we carried out metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing (mNGS) on urine, throat, and fecal samples obtained from wild-caught individuals. We report detection of RNA derived from Betacoronavirus subgenus Nobecovirus in fecal samples from all three species and describe full genome sequences of novel Nobecoviruses in P. rufus and R. madagascariensis. Phylogenetic analysis indicates the existence of five distinct Nobecovirus clades, one of which is defined by the highly divergent sequence reported here from P. rufus bats. Madagascar Nobecoviruses derived from P. rufus and R. madagascariensis demonstrate, respectively, Asian and African phylogeographic origins, mirroring those of their fruit bat hosts. Bootscan recombination analysis indicates significant selection has taken place in the spike, nucleocapsid, and NS7 accessory protein regions of the genome for viruses derived from both bat hosts. Madagascar offers a unique phylogeographic nexus of bats and viruses with both Asian and African phylogeographic origins, providing opportunities for unprecedented mixing of viral groups and, potentially, recombination. As fruit bats are handled and consumed widely across Madagascar for subsistence, understanding the landscape of potentially zoonotic coronavirus circulation is essential for mitigation of future zoonotic threats.

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