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

Front Public Health. 2023 Nov 27:11:1283113. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1283113. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Ebola virus; Eidolon helvum; Ghana bat henipavirus; H17N10; Marburg virus; Nipah virus; henipavirus; pseudotypes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Chiroptera*
  • Humans
  • Nigeria / epidemiology
  • Virus Diseases*
  • Zoonoses / epidemiology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. AB was part funded by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the devolved Scottish and Welsh governments under grants SE2213 and SV3006. EG is supported by funding by the University of Essex COVID-19 Rapid and Agile and the Faculty of Science and Health Research Innovation and Support Funds.