Range Expansion of Bombali Virus in Mops condylurus Bats, Kenya, 2019

Lauri Kareinen; Joseph Ogola; Ilkka Kivistö; Teemu Smura; Kirsi Aaltonen; Anne J Jääskeläinen; Sospeter Kibiwot; Moses M Masika; Philip Nyaga; Dufton Mwaengo; Omu Anzala; Olli Vapalahti; Paul W Webala; Kristian M Forbes; Tarja Sironen

doi:10.3201/eid2612.202925

Range Expansion of Bombali Virus in Mops condylurus Bats, Kenya, 2019

Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Dec;26(12):3007-3010. doi: 10.3201/eid2612.202925.

Authors

Lauri Kareinen, Joseph Ogola, Ilkka Kivistö, Teemu Smura, Kirsi Aaltonen, Anne J Jääskeläinen, Sospeter Kibiwot, Moses M Masika, Philip Nyaga, Dufton Mwaengo, Omu Anzala, Olli Vapalahti, Paul W Webala, Kristian M Forbes, Tarja Sironen

Abstract

Previously identified only in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and southeastern Kenya, Bombali virus-infected Mops condylurus bats were recently found »750 km away in western Kenya. This finding supports the role of M. condylurus bats as hosts and the potential for Bombali virus circulation across the bats' range in sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: Bombali ebolavirus; Bombali virus; Kenya; Mops condylurus; bats; filovirus; viruses.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Chiroptera*
Ebolavirus*
Guinea
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola*
Kenya / epidemiology
Sierra Leone