PLoS Pathogens (Jul 2009)

Isolation of genetically diverse Marburg viruses from Egyptian fruit bats.

  • Jonathan S Towner,
  • Brian R Amman,
  • Tara K Sealy,
  • Serena A Reeder Carroll,
  • James A Comer,
  • Alan Kemp,
  • Robert Swanepoel,
  • Christopher D Paddock,
  • Stephen Balinandi,
  • Marina L Khristova,
  • Pierre B H Formenty,
  • Cesar G Albarino,
  • David M Miller,
  • Zachary D Reed,
  • John T Kayiwa,
  • James N Mills,
  • Deborah L Cannon,
  • Patricia W Greer,
  • Emmanuel Byaruhanga,
  • Eileen C Farnon,
  • Patrick Atimnedi,
  • Samuel Okware,
  • Edward Katongole-Mbidde,
  • Robert Downing,
  • Jordan W Tappero,
  • Sherif R Zaki,
  • Thomas G Ksiazek,
  • Stuart T Nichol,
  • Pierre E Rollin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000536
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 7
p. e1000536

Abstract

Read online

In July and September 2007, miners working in Kitaka Cave, Uganda, were diagnosed with Marburg hemorrhagic fever. The likely source of infection in the cave was Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) based on detection of Marburg virus RNA in 31/611 (5.1%) bats, virus-specific antibody in bat sera, and isolation of genetically diverse virus from bat tissues. The virus isolates were collected nine months apart, demonstrating long-term virus circulation. The bat colony was estimated to be over 100,000 animals using mark and re-capture methods, predicting the presence of over 5,000 virus-infected bats. The genetically diverse virus genome sequences from bats and miners closely matched. These data indicate common Egyptian fruit bats can represent a major natural reservoir and source of Marburg virus with potential for spillover into humans.