article · Pathogens
The Democratic Republic of Congo has experienced numerous Ebola virus disease outbreaks, yet the specific role of bats in maintaining and transmitting the virus remains challenging to confirm. Between 2018 and 2020, researchers surveyed fruit and insect-eating bats across four sites, covering both active and previous outbreak areas in Equateur and North Kivu provinces. Blood tests revealed that between 1.2 percent and 10.8 percent of the bats carried antibodies recognising Ebola virus antigens, depending on the diagnostic criteria applied. These antibodies were identified exclusively in fruit bat species across all four surveyed locations. However, diagnostic screening of oral and rectal swabs from hundreds of bats detected no active filovirus RNA. The absence of active virus indicates bats may clear infections rapidly, highlighting the practical complexities of tracking wild viral reservoirs during epidemic periods.
Identifying natural animal reservoirs of Ebola virus is crucial for anticipating and preventing deadly epidemics in humans. Because the Democratic Republic of Congo faces recurring outbreaks, finding that bats carry antibodies without detectable active virus sheds light on transmission dynamics. This helps epidemiologists and public health agencies understand the timing and limitations of wildlife surveillance strategies.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway or commercialisation opportunity, as it focuses strictly on basic ecological surveillance of wild bat populations.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
With 12 of the 31 outbreaks, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is highly affected by Ebolavirus disease (EVD). To better understand the role of bats in the ecology of Ebola viruses, we conducted surveys in bats during two recent EVD outbreaks and in two areas with previous outbreaks. Dried blood spots were tested for antibodies to ebolaviruses and oral and rectal swabs were screened for the presence of filovirus using a broadly reactive semi-nested RT-PCR. Between 2018 and 2020, 892 (88.6%) frugivorous and 115 (11.4%) insectivorous bats were collected. Overall, 11/925 (1.2%) to 100/925 (10.8%) bats showed antibodies to at least one Ebolavirus antigen depending on the positivity criteria. Antibodies were detected in fruit bats from the four sites and from species previously documented to harbor Ebola antibodies or RNA. We tested for the first time a large number of bats during ongoing EVD outbreaks in DRC, but no viral RNA was detected in the 676 sampled bats. Our study illustrates the difficulty to document the role of bats as a source of Ebolaviruses as they might clear quickly the virus. Given the increasing frequency of EVD outbreaks, more studies on the animal reservoir are urgently needed.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10050557
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
