Clinical, Histopathologic, and Immunohistochemical Characterization of Experimental Marburg Virus Infection in A Natural Reservoir Host, the Egyptian Rousette Bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus)

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Viruses
• Personal Author:
  Jones, Megan E.B. ; Amman, Brian R. ; Sealy, Tara K. ; Uebelhoer, Luke S. ; Schuh, Amy J. ; Flietstra, Timothy ; Bird, Brian H. ; Coleman-McCray, JoAnn D. ; Zaki, Sherif R. ; Nichol, Stuart T. ; Towner, Jonathan S.
• Description:
  Egyptian rousette bats (|) are natural reservoir hosts of Marburg virus (MARV), and Ravn virus (RAVV; collectively called marburgviruses) and have been linked to human cases of Marburg virus disease (MVD). We investigated the clinical and pathologic effects of experimental MARV infection in Egyptian rousettes through a serial euthanasia study and found clear evidence of mild but transient disease. Three groups of nine, captive-born, juvenile male bats were inoculated subcutaneously with 10,000 TCID| of Marburg virus strain Uganda 371Bat2007, a minimally passaged virus originally isolated from a wild Egyptian rousette. Control bats (| = 3) were mock-inoculated. Three animals per day were euthanized at 3, 5⁻10, 12 and 28 days post-inoculation (DPI); controls were euthanized at 28 DPI. Blood chemistry analyses showed a mild, statistically significant elevation in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) at 3, 6 and 7 DPI. Lymphocyte and monocyte counts were mildly elevated in inoculated bats after 9 DPI. Liver histology revealed small foci of inflammatory infiltrate in infected bats, similar to lesions previously described in wild, naturally-infected bats. Liver lesion severity scores peaked at 7 DPI, and were correlated with both ALT and hepatic viral RNA levels. Immunohistochemical staining detected infrequent viral antigen in liver (3⁻8 DPI, | = 8), spleen (3⁻7 DPI, | = 8), skin (inoculation site; 3⁻12 DPI, | = 20), lymph nodes (3⁻10 DPI, | = 6), and oral submucosa (8⁻9 DPI, | = 2). Viral antigen was present in histiocytes, hepatocytes and mesenchymal cells, and in the liver, antigen staining co-localized with inflammatory foci. These results show the first clear evidence of very mild disease caused by a filovirus in a reservoir bat host and provide support for our experimental model of this virus-reservoir host system.
• Subjects:
  Article Egyptian Rousette Bat Filovirus Histopathologic Immunohistochemical Marburg Virus Natural Reservoir Rousettus Aegyptiacus
• Source:
  Viruses. 2019; 11(3)
• Pubmed ID:
  30832364
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6466277
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  HDTRA-14-1-0016, Subaward S-1340-03/Defense Threat Reduction Agency/
• Volume:
  11
• Issue:
  3
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:bbb5f8f2d75783aefb839ad87bda230a591148b851af4582799e3093ecf16027
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/77774/cdc_77774_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.64 MB ]