Brief Communications
Nature 438, 575-576 (1 December 2005) | doi:10.1038/438575a
Fruit bats as reservoirs of Ebola virus
Eric M. Leroy1,5, Brice Kumulungui1, Xavier Pourrut1,5, Pierre Rouquet1, Alexandre Hassanin2, Philippe Yaba1, André Délicat1, Janusz T. Paweska3, Jean-Paul Gonzalez4 and Robert Swanepoel3
The first recorded human outbreak of Ebola virus was in 1976, but the wild reservoir of this virus is still unknown1. Here we test for Ebola in more than a thousand small vertebrates that were collected during Ebola outbreaks in humans and great apes between 2001 and 2003 in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. We find evidence of asymptomatic infection by Ebola virus in three species of fruit bat, indicating that these animals may be acting as a reservoir for this deadly virus.
- Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, BP 769 Franceville, Gabon
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 5202, Paris 75005, France
- National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Special Pathogens Unit, Private Bag X4, Sandringham 2131, South Africa
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UR178, Mahidol University at Salaya, Nakhonpathom 73170, Thailand
- Institut de Recherches pour le Développement, UR178, Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, BP 769 Franceville, Gabon
Correspondence to: Eric M. Leroy1,5 Email: eric.leroy@ird.fr
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