Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic
Abstract The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to a 2‐year‐old boy in Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the zoonotic origins of the epidemic using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses of bat and environmental...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2014-12-01
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| Series: | EMBO Molecular Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201404792 |
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| author | Almudena Marí Saéz Sabrina Weiss Kathrin Nowak Vincent Lapeyre Fee Zimmermann Ariane Düx Hjalmar S Kühl Moussa Kaba Sebastien Regnaut Kevin Merkel Andreas Sachse Ulla Thiesen Lili Villányi Christophe Boesch Piotr W Dabrowski Aleksandar Radonić Andreas Nitsche Siv Aina J Leendertz Stefan Petterson Stephan Becker Verena Krähling Emmanuel Couacy‐Hymann Chantal Akoua‐Koffi Natalie Weber Lars Schaade Jakob Fahr Matthias Borchert Jan F Gogarten Sébastien Calvignac‐Spencer Fabian H Leendertz |
| author_facet | Almudena Marí Saéz Sabrina Weiss Kathrin Nowak Vincent Lapeyre Fee Zimmermann Ariane Düx Hjalmar S Kühl Moussa Kaba Sebastien Regnaut Kevin Merkel Andreas Sachse Ulla Thiesen Lili Villányi Christophe Boesch Piotr W Dabrowski Aleksandar Radonić Andreas Nitsche Siv Aina J Leendertz Stefan Petterson Stephan Becker Verena Krähling Emmanuel Couacy‐Hymann Chantal Akoua‐Koffi Natalie Weber Lars Schaade Jakob Fahr Matthias Borchert Jan F Gogarten Sébastien Calvignac‐Spencer Fabian H Leendertz |
| author_sort | Almudena Marí Saéz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to a 2‐year‐old boy in Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the zoonotic origins of the epidemic using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses of bat and environmental samples. We found no evidence for a concurrent outbreak in larger wildlife. Exposure to fruit bats is common in the region, but the index case may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of insectivorous free‐tailed bats (Mops condylurus). Bats in this family have previously been discussed as potential sources for Ebola virus outbreaks, and experimental data have shown that this species can survive experimental infection. These analyses expand the range of possible Ebola virus sources to include insectivorous bats and reiterate the importance of broader sampling efforts for understanding Ebola virus ecology. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dffa9e871df24ce6b937e6cae518d307 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1757-4676 1757-4684 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | EMBO Molecular Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-dffa9e871df24ce6b937e6cae518d3072025-08-20T03:43:26ZengSpringer NatureEMBO Molecular Medicine1757-46761757-46842014-12-0171172310.15252/emmm.201404792Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemicAlmudena Marí Saéz0Sabrina Weiss1Kathrin Nowak2Vincent Lapeyre3Fee Zimmermann4Ariane Düx5Hjalmar S Kühl6Moussa Kaba7Sebastien Regnaut8Kevin Merkel9Andreas Sachse10Ulla Thiesen11Lili Villányi12Christophe Boesch13Piotr W Dabrowski14Aleksandar Radonić15Andreas Nitsche16Siv Aina J Leendertz17Stefan Petterson18Stephan Becker19Verena Krähling20Emmanuel Couacy‐Hymann21Chantal Akoua‐Koffi22Natalie Weber23Lars Schaade24Jakob Fahr25Matthias Borchert26Jan F Gogarten27Sébastien Calvignac‐Spencer28Fabian H Leendertz29Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteWild Chimpanzee Foundation, at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteWild Chimpanzee Foundation, at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyWild Chimpanzee Foundation, at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyWild Chimpanzee Foundation, at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteWild Chimpanzee Foundation, at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyCentre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Robert Koch InstituteCentre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Robert Koch InstituteCentre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Robert Koch InstituteEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteEidolon ekologiInstitute of Virology, Philipps‐University MarburgInstitute of Virology, Philipps‐University MarburgLaboratoire National d'Appui au Développement Agricole, Laboratoire Central de la Pathologie AnimalResearch Center for the Development and Teaching Hospital, Université Alassane Ouattara de BouakeInstitute of Experimental Ecology, Ulm UniversityCentre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Robert Koch InstituteDepartment of Migration and Immuno‐Ecology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Max Planck Institute for OrnithologyInstitute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteEpidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch InstituteAbstract The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to a 2‐year‐old boy in Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the zoonotic origins of the epidemic using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses of bat and environmental samples. We found no evidence for a concurrent outbreak in larger wildlife. Exposure to fruit bats is common in the region, but the index case may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of insectivorous free‐tailed bats (Mops condylurus). Bats in this family have previously been discussed as potential sources for Ebola virus outbreaks, and experimental data have shown that this species can survive experimental infection. These analyses expand the range of possible Ebola virus sources to include insectivorous bats and reiterate the importance of broader sampling efforts for understanding Ebola virus ecology.https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201404792batEbolaWest Africawildlifezoonosis |
| spellingShingle | Almudena Marí Saéz Sabrina Weiss Kathrin Nowak Vincent Lapeyre Fee Zimmermann Ariane Düx Hjalmar S Kühl Moussa Kaba Sebastien Regnaut Kevin Merkel Andreas Sachse Ulla Thiesen Lili Villányi Christophe Boesch Piotr W Dabrowski Aleksandar Radonić Andreas Nitsche Siv Aina J Leendertz Stefan Petterson Stephan Becker Verena Krähling Emmanuel Couacy‐Hymann Chantal Akoua‐Koffi Natalie Weber Lars Schaade Jakob Fahr Matthias Borchert Jan F Gogarten Sébastien Calvignac‐Spencer Fabian H Leendertz Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic EMBO Molecular Medicine bat Ebola West Africa wildlife zoonosis |
| title | Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic |
| title_full | Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic |
| title_fullStr | Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic |
| title_short | Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic |
| title_sort | investigating the zoonotic origin of the west african ebola epidemic |
| topic | bat Ebola West Africa wildlife zoonosis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201404792 |
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