Isolation of Genetically Diverse Marburg Viruses from Egyptian Fruit Bats: e1000536

In July and September 2007, miners working in Kitaka Cave, Uganda, were diagnosed with Marburg hemorrhagic fever. The likely source of infection in the cave was Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) based on detection of Marburg virus RNA in 31/611 (5.1%) bats, virus-specific antibody in bat s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS pathogens 2009-07, Vol.5 (7)
Main Authors: Towner, Jonathan S, Amman, Brian R, Sealy, Tara K, Carroll, Serena AReeder, Comer, James A, Kemp, Alan, Swanepoel, Robert, Paddock, Christopher D, Balinandi, Stephen, Khristova, Marina L, menty, Pierre BH, Albarino, Cesar G, Miller, David M, Reed, Zachary D, Kayiwa, John T, Mills, James N, Cannon, Deborah L, Greer, Patricia W, Byaruhanga, Emmanuel, Farnon, Eileen C, Atimnedi, Patrick, Okware, Samuel, Katongole-Mbidde, Edward, Downing, Robert, Tappero, Jordan W, Zaki, Sherif R, Ksiazek, Thomas G, Nichol, Stuart T, Rollin, Pierre E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bats
Ebola virus
Fever
Genomes
Monkeys & apes
Phylogenetics
Viruses
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Summary:In July and September 2007, miners working in Kitaka Cave, Uganda, were diagnosed with Marburg hemorrhagic fever. The likely source of infection in the cave was Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) based on detection of Marburg virus RNA in 31/611 (5.1%) bats, virus-specific antibody in bat sera, and isolation of genetically diverse virus from bat tissues. The virus isolates were collected nine months apart, demonstrating long-term virus circulation. The bat colony was estimated to be over 100,000 animals using mark and re-capture methods, predicting the presence of over 5,000 virus-infected bats. The genetically diverse virus genome sequences from bats and miners closely matched. These data indicate common Egyptian fruit bats can represent a major natural reservoir and source of Marburg virus with potential for spillover into humans.
ISSN:1553-7366
1553-7374
DOI:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000536