Volume 13, Number 9—September 2007
Dispatch
Coronavirus Antibodies in African Bat Species
Marcel A. Müller*
, Janusz T. Paweska†, Patricia A. Leman†, Christian Drosten‡, Klaus Grywna‡, Alan Kemp†, Leo Braack§, Karen Sonnenberg¶, Matthias Niedrig*, and Robert Swanepoel†
, Janusz T. Paweska†, Patricia A. Leman†, Christian Drosten‡, Klaus Grywna‡, Alan Kemp†, Leo Braack§, Karen Sonnenberg¶, Matthias Niedrig*, and Robert Swanepoel†Table
Antibody to SARS-CoV in bat sera collected in 1986–1999 at 4 locations in central and southern Africa*
| ELISA: positive/tested (%)† |
WB: positive/ tested‡ | IIFT: positive/ tested‡ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limpopo Province, SA | Mpumalanga Province, SA | Oriental Province, DRC | Bandundu Province, DRC | Total | |||
| Fruit bats | |||||||
| Casinycteris argynnis | 0/3 | 0/3 | |||||
| Eidolon helvum | 0/6 | 0/6 | |||||
| Epomophorus gambianus | 0/4 | 0/6 | 0/10 | ||||
| Epomophorus wahlbergi | 0/2 | 0/2 | |||||
| Epomops franqueti | 0/5 | 0/5 | |||||
| Hypsignathus monstrosus | 1/11 (9.1) | 1/11 (9.1) | 1/1 | 0/1 | |||
| Lyssonycteris angolensis | 1/16 (6.3) | 0/2 | 1/18 (5.6) | 1/1 | 0/1 | ||
| Myonycteris torquata | 1/7 (14.3) | 1/7 (14.3) | |||||
| Rousettus aegyptiacus |
11/29 (37.9) |
17/142
(12.0) |
28/171
(16.4) |
26/26 |
7/26 |
||
| Insect bats | |||||||
| Chaerephon pumila | 0/35 | 0/18 | 0/1 | 0/54 | |||
| Hipposideros caffer | 0/5 | 0/9 | 0/15 | ||||
| Hipposideros commersoni | 0/16 | 0/16 | |||||
| Miniopterus inflatus | 1/34 (2.9) | 1/34 (2.9) | |||||
| Miniopterus schreibersi | 0/1 | 0/1 | |||||
| Mops condylurus | 3/19 (15.8) | 11/96 (11.5) | 14/115 (12.2) | 8/9 | 5/9 | ||
| Mops midas | 0/15 | 0/15 | |||||
| Myotis bocagei | 0/1 | 0/1 | |||||
| Nycteris argae | 0/1 | 0/1 | |||||
| N. thebaica | 0/6 | 0/6 | |||||
| Pipistrellus capensis | 0/1 | 0/1 | |||||
| Rhinolophus darlingi | 0/1 | 0/1 | |||||
| Rhinolophus landeri | 0/2 | 0/2 | |||||
| Rhinolophus fumigatus | 1/204 (0.5) | 1/204 (0.5) | |||||
| Scotophilus borbonicus | 0/1 | 0/1 | |||||
| S. dinganii | 0/5 | 0/5 | |||||
| Taphozous mauritianus |
0/1 |
0/1 |
|||||
| Totals | 14/128 (10.9) | 11/120 (9.2) | 20/422 (4.7) | 2/35 (5.7) | 47/705 (6.7) | 36/37 | 12/37 |
*SARS-CoV, severe acute respiratory syndrome–associated coronavirus; SA, South Africa; DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo; WB, Western blot; IIFT, indirect immunofluorescence test.
†Serum specimens were screened for antibody by modification of a commercially available ELISA kit. Titers ranged from 1:50 to 1:800.
‡Confirmatory tests were performed by 2 WB analyses and IIFT when sufficient sample was available.
