Detection of Bombali virus in a Mops condylurus bat in Kyela, Tanzania
Authors
- A. Düx
- S.E. Lwitiho
- A. Ayouba
- C. Röthemeier
- K. Merkel
- S. Weiss
- G. Thaurignac
- A. Lander
- L. Kouadio
- K. Nowak
- V. Corman
- C. Drosten
- E. Couacy-Hymann
- D.H. Krüger
- A. Kurth
- S. Calvignac-Spencer
- M. Peeters
- N.E. Ntinginya
- F.H. Leendertz
- C. Mangu
Journal
- Viruses
Citation
- Viruses 16 (8): 1227
Abstract
Bombali virus (BOMV) is a novel Orthoebolavirus that has been detected in free-tailed bats in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Kenya, and Mozambique. We screened our collection of 349 free-tailed bat lungs collected in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania for BOMV RNA and tested 228 bat blood samples for BOMV antibodies. We did not detect BOMV-specific antibodies but found BOMV RNA in a Mops condylurus bat from Tanzania, marking the first detection of an ebolavirus in this country. Our findings further expand the geographic range of BOMV and support M. condylurus’ role as a natural BOMV host.