Serological evidence of virus infection in Eidolon helvum fruit bats: implications for bushmeat consumption in Nigeria

Cantoni, D., Mayora-Neto, M., Derveni, M., da Costa, K., Del Rosario, J., Ameh, V. O., Sabeta, C. T., Auld, B., Hamlet, A., Jones, I. M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7738-2516, Wright, E., Scott, S. D., Giotis, E. S., Banyard, A. C. and Temperton, N. (2023) Serological evidence of virus infection in Eidolon helvum fruit bats: implications for bushmeat consumption in Nigeria. Frontiers in Public Health, 11. 1283113. ISSN 2296-2565 doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1283113

Abstract/Summary

Introduction: The Eidolon helvum fruit bat is one of the most widely distributed fruit bats in Africa and known to be a reservoir for several pathogenic viruses that can cause disease in animals and humans. To assess the risk of zoonotic spillover, we conducted a serological survey of 304 serum samples from E. helvum bats that were captured for human consumption in Makurdi, Nigeria. Methods: Using pseudotyped viruses, we screened 304 serum samples for neutralizing antibodies against viruses from the Coronaviridae, Filoviridae, Orthomyxoviridae and Paramyxoviridae families. Results: We report the presence of neutralizing antibodies against henipavirus lineage GH-M74a virus (odds ratio 6.23; p < 0.001), Nipah virus (odds ratio 4.04; p = 0.00031), bat influenza H17N10 virus (odds ratio 7.25; p < 0.001) and no significant association with Ebola virus (odds ratio 0.56; p = 0.375) in this bat cohort. Conclusion: The data suggest a potential risk of zoonotic spillover including the possible circulation of highly pathogenic viruses in E. helvum populations. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining sero-surveillance of E. helvum, and the necessity for further, more comprehensive investigations to monitor changes in virus prevalence, distribution over time, and across different geographic locations.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/114506
Identification Number/DOI	10.3389/fpubh.2023.1283113
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Biomedical Sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords	henipavirus, Nipah virus, Chiroptera, Animals, Nigeria - epidemiology, Ghana bat henipavirus, Eidolon helvum, Zoonoses - epidemiology, Ebola virus, H17N10, pseudotypes, Antibodies, Neutralizing, Marburg virus, Humans, Virus Diseases
Publisher	Frontiers Media
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