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Biosecurity Briefing Fruit Bats Are Likely Reservoir for Marburg Virus By Crystal Franco, August 24, 2007 On August 22, 2007, scientists published a study in the Journal Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE) on the discovery of a “common species of fruit bat” (Rousettus aegyptiacus) as a natural reservoir for the Marburg virus. Marburg causes annual outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever (HF) in human populations (primarily in Eastern Africa and the Republic of Congo) and has a high fatality rate of 80-90% in both humans and apes. The Marburg virus was first identified 40 years ago, and since that time outbreaks of the virus have often been linked epidemiologically to mines, caves, and jungles where bats reside. The Ebola virus, too, has recently been linked to fruit bats in Gabon and the Republic of Congo.1 The PLoS ONE study examined bats from Gabon and the Republic of Congo to look for a Marburg virus-specific RNA antibody. The study involved more than 1100 bats from 10 bat species in Gabon and in the northwest region of the Republic of Congo. Scientists found that only one of the 10 species—Rousettus aegyptiacus—showed evidence of Marburg infection. The infected bats were trapped “at two geographic locations;” in Gabon and Uige, Angola. According to the study, “almost 9%, of Rousettus aegyptiacus trapped at these locations may have low-level antibody to Marburg virus, while another 3% have more significant Marburg antibody titers. Among the R. aegyptiacus population tested for which age determinations could be made, evidence of Marburg infection in bats favored adults (24/138) over juveniles (4/86), 17.4% to 4.6% respectively.”1 Based on the data collected from the bats, scientists believe that this discovery could indicate a “bon-a-fide reservoir species.”1 In a Yahoo News article on August 24, 2007, lead author, Jonathan Towner, a senior microbiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, added that, "from a public health perspective, this discovery offers us new insight into the transmission of Marburg virus and potentially other filoviruses [like Ebola]."2 According to the study, “identification of the reservoir host should allow development of risk reduction measures to help mitigate the potential of future disease outbreaks.”1 References
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