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Volume 24, Number 12—December 2018
Research

Survey of Ebola Viruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bats in Guinea, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2015–2017

Helene M. De Nys1, Placide Mbala Kingebeni1, Alpha K. Keita1, Christelle Butel, Guillaume Thaurignac, Christian-Julian Villabona-Arenas, Thomas Lemarcis, Mare Geraerts, Nicole Vidal, Amandine Esteban, Mathieu Bourgarel, François Roger, Fabian Leendertz, Ramadan Diallo, Simon-Pierre Ndimbo-Kumugo, Justus Nsio-Mbeta, Nikki Tagg, Lamine Koivogui, Abdoulaye Toure, Eric Delaporte, Steve Ahuka-Mundeke, Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, Eitel Mpoudi-Ngole, Ahidjo Ayouba2, and Martine Peeters2Comments to Author 

Author affiliations: TransVIHMI of Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale and University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France (H.M. De Nys, P. Mbala Kingebeni, A.K. Keita, C. Butel, G. Thaurignac, C.-J. Villabona-Arenas, T. Lemarcis, M. Geraerts, N. Vidal, A. Esteban, A. Toure, E. Delaporte, A. Ayouba, M. Peeters); National Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (P. Mbala Kingebeni, S.-P. Ndimbo-Kumugo, S. Ahuka-Mundeke, J.-J. Muyembe Tamfum); Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa, Kinshasa (P. Mbala Kingebeni, S. Ahuka-Mundeke, J.-J. Muyembe Tamfum); Centre de Recherche et de Formation en Infectiologie de Guinée, Conakry, Guinea (A.K. Keita, A. Toure); ASTRE of Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement, Institut national de la Recherche Agronomique and Univerisity of Montpellier, Montpellier (M. Bourgarel, F. Roger); Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany (F. Leendertz); Ministère de l’Elevage et des Productions Animales, Conakry (R. Diallo); Direction de Lutte contre la Maladie, Kinshasa (J. Nsio-Mbeta); Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium (N. Tagg); Université de Conakry, Conakry (L. Koivogui); Institut National de Sante Publique, Conakry (A. Toure); Institut de Recherches Médicales et d’Études des Plantes Médicinales, Yaoundé, Cameroon (E. Mpoudi-Ngole); Cameroon Institut de Recherche pout le Développement, Yaoundé (E. Mpoudi-Ngole)

Main Article

Table 6

Zaire Ebola virus antibodies in frugivorous (Pteropodidae family) bats from our research, Guinea, Cameroon, and the DRC, 2015–2017, and published studies*

Species Country Year of study (reference) Test No. tested No. (%) positive Total, no. positive/tested (%)
Casinycteris ophiodon
Guinea
2014 (11)
ELISA
1
0
0/20
Casinycteris argynnis Gabon, Congo 2003–2008 (13) ELISA 18 0
C. argynnis
DRC
1995 (27)
ELISA
1
0

Eidolon helvum Guinea 2014 (11) ELISA 6 0 21–36/1,551 (1.4–2.3)
Guinea 2015–2017‡ Luminex 17 0–3 (0–17.6)
Ghana 2008 (14) IFA 262 1 (0.39)
Cameroon 2015–2017‡ Luminex 158 1–9 (0.6–5.7)
Gabon, Congo 2003–2008 (13) ELISA 49 0
DRC 1979–1980 (26) IFA 6 0
DRC 2015–2017‡ Luminex 305 0–4 (0–1.3)

Zambia
2006–2013 (16)
ELISA
748
19 (2.55)

Epomophorus gambianus Guinea 2015–2017‡ Luminex 191 0–1 (0–0.5) 4–5/244 (1.6–2.0)

Ghana
2007 (15)
ELISA
37
4 (10.82)

Epomophorus wahlbergi
Cameroon
2015–2017‡
Luminex
16
0–0 (0–0)

Epomops buettikoferi
Guinea
2014 (11)
ELISA
17
0
47/1,269 (3.7)

Guinea
2015–2017‡
Luminex
4
0–0 (0–0)

Epomops franqueti Ghana 2007 (15) ELISA 27 3 (11.2)
Cameroon 2015–2017‡ Luminex 256 0–0 (0–0)
Gabon, Congo 2001–2005 (6) ELISA 117 8 (6.8)
Gabon, Congo 2003–2008 (13) ELISA 805 36 (4.5)
DRC 2015–2017‡ Luminex 20 0–0 (0–0)
DRC 1979–1980 (26) IFA 21 0

DRC
1995 (27)
ELISA
2
0

Hypsygnathus monstrosus Guinea 2015–2017‡ Luminex 8 0–0 (0–0) 15–18/347 (4.3–5.2)
Guinea 2014 (13) ELISA 1 0
Ghana 2008 (14) IFA 3 0
Ghana 2007 (15) ELISA 16 2 (12.5)
Cameroon 2015–2017‡ Luminex 176 0–3 (0–1.7)
Gabon, Congo 2001–2005 (6) ELISA 17 4 (23.5)
Gabon, Congo 2003–2008 (13) ELISA 125 9 (7.2)

DRC
2015–2017‡
Luminex
1
0–0 (0–0)

Lissonycteris angolensis Guinea 2014 (11) ELISA 45 0 0–2/129 (0–1.6)
Guinea 2015–2017‡ Luminex 32 0–0 (0–0)
DRC 2015–2017‡ Luminex 22 0–0 (0–0)

Cameroon
2015–2017‡
Luminex
30
0–2 (0–6.7)

Megaloglossus azagnyi
Guinea
2014 (11)
ELISA
3
0
0/110
Megaloglossus woermanni Cameroon 2015–2017‡ Luminex 19 0–0 (0–0)
Gabon, Congo 2003–2008 (13) ELISA 49 0
DRC 2015–2017‡ Luminex 1 0–0 (0–0)

DRC
1995 (27)
ELISA
38
0

Micropteropus pusillus Guinea 2015–2017‡ Luminex 18 0–0 (0–0) 4/339 (1.2)
Cameroon 2015–2017‡ Luminex 2 0–0 (0–0)
Gabon, Congo 2003–2008 (13) ELISA 197 4 (2.04)
DRC 2015–2017‡ Luminex 44 0–0 (0–0)

DRC
1995 (27)
ELISA
78
0

Myonycteris leptodon
Guinea
2014 (11)
ELISA
21
0
23–27/708 (3.2–3.8)
Myonycteris torquata Cameroon 2015–2017‡ Luminex 21 0–0 (0–0)
Gabon, Congo 2001–2005 (6) ELISA 58 4 (6.9)
Gabon, Congo 2003–2008 (13) ELISA 573 19 (3.32)

DRC
2015–2017‡
Luminex
35
0–0 (0–0)

Nanonycteris veldkampii Guinea 2014 (11) ELISA 17 0 0/21

Ghana
2007 (15)
ELISA
4
0

Rousettus aegyptiacus Guinea 2015–2017‡ Luminex 228 0–1 (0–0.4) 24–33/666 (3.6–5.0)
Cameroon 2015–2017‡ Luminex 131 0–8 (0–6.1)

Gabon, Congo
2003–2008 (13)
ELISA
307
24 (7.8)

Scotonycteris zenkeri
Cameroon
2015–2017‡
Luminex
1
0–0 (0–0)
0–0/1 (0–0)
Total 138–172/5,405 (2.55–3.18)

*DRC, the Democratic Republic of the Congo; IFA, immunofluorescence assay.
†For cited studies, the number of positive samples reported in the original study is indicated. For our results, we show the range in the number of samples simultaneously reactive with glycoprotein and nucleoprotein of Zaire Ebola virus on the basis of 4 different statistical methods used to determine cutoff values.
‡This study.

Main Article

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Main Article

1These first authors contributed equally to this article.

2These senior authors contributed equally to this article.

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Page updated: November 20, 2018
Page reviewed: November 20, 2018
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