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Micro‒Global Positioning Systems for Identifying Nightly Opportunities for Marburg Virus Spillover to Humans by Egyptian Rousette Bats
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11 2023
Source: Emerg Infect Dis. 2023; 29(11):2238-2245 -
Alternative Title:Emerg Infect Dis
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Description:Marburg virus disease, caused by Marburg and Ravn orthomarburgviruses, emerges sporadically in sub-Saharan Africa and is often fatal in humans. The natural reservoir is the Egyptian rousette bat (ERB), which sheds virus in saliva, urine, and feces. Frugivorous ERBs discard test-bitten and partially eaten fruit, potentially leaving infectious virus behind that could be consumed by other susceptible animals or humans. Historically, 8 of 17 known Marburg virus disease outbreaks have been linked to human encroachment on ERB habitats, but no linkage exists for the other 9 outbreaks, raising the question of how bats and humans might intersect, leading to virus spillover. We used micro‒global positioning systems to identify nightly ERB foraging locations. ERBs from a known Marburg virus‒infected population traveled long distances to feed in cultivated fruit trees near homes. Our results show that ERB foraging behavior represents a Marburg virus spillover risk to humans and plausibly explains the origins of some past outbreaks.
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Pubmed ID:37877537
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC10617345
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