Title: Isolation of Angola-like Marburg virus from Egyptian rousette bats from West Africa

Authors: Brian R. Amman¹ , Brian H. Bird², Ibrahim A. Bakarr³, James Bangura²,⁴, Amy J. Schuh¹ , Jonathan Johnny³, Tara K. Sealy¹ , Immah Conteh³, Alusine H. Koroma³, Ibrahim Foday³, Emmanuel Amara⁴, Abdulai A. Bangura⁴, Aiah A. Gbakima⁵, Alexandre Tremeau-Bravard³, Manjunatha Belaganahalli³, Jasjeet Dhanota², Andrew Chow², Victoria Ontiveros², Alexandra Gibson², Joseph Turay⁴, Ketan Patel1 , James Graziano1 , Camilla Bangura³, Emmanuel S. Kamanda³, Augustus Osborne³, Emmanuel Saidu³, Jonathan Musa³, Doris Bangura³, Samuel Maxwell Tom Williams³, Richard Wadsworth³, Mohamed Turay⁴, Lavalie Edwin⁴, Vanessa Mereweather-Thompson⁴, Dickson Kargbo⁴, Fatmata V. Bairoh⁴, Marilyn Kanu⁴, Willie Robert⁴, Victor Lungai⁴, Raoul Emeric Guetiya Wadoum⁴, Moinya Coomber⁴, Osman Kanu⁴, Amara Jambai⁶, Sorie M. Kamara⁷, Celine H. Taboy¹ , Tushar Singh⁸, Jonna A.K. Mazet², Stuart T. Nichol¹ , Tracey Goldstein ID ^2*, Jonathan S. Towner ID ^{1 *} & Aiah Lebbie ID ^3*

DOWNLOAD

Abstract/Summary

Marburg virus (MARV) causes sporadic outbreaks of severe Marburg virus disease (MVD). Most MVD outbreaks originated in East Africa and field studies in East Africa, South Africa, Zambia, and Gabon identified the Egyptian rousette bat (ERB; Rousettus aegyptiacus) as a natural reservoir. However, the largest recorded MVD outbreak with the highest case–fatality ratio happened in 2005 in Angola, where direct spillover from bats was not shown. Here, collaborative studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Njala University, University of California, Davis USAID-PREDICT, and the University of Makeni identify MARV circulating in ERBs in Sierra Leone. PCR, antibody and virus isolation data from 1755 bats of 42 species shows active MARV infection in approximately 2.5% of ERBs. Phylogenetic analysis identifies MARVs that are similar to the Angola strain. These results provide evidence of MARV circulation in West Africa and demonstrate the value of pathogen surveillance to identify previously undetected threats.