Bats May be Carriers of Ebola Virus - Scientists
Date: 01-Dec-05
Country: UK
Although the bats do not show any evidence of infection, the International Centre for Medical Research in Franceville, Gabon discovered genetic evidence or an immune response in the animals, captured during outbreaks between 2001 and 2003.
"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," Eric Leroy and his colleagues said in a report in the science journal Nature.
Ebola haemorrhagic fever, which was first identified in 1976, is one of the most virulent viral diseases, according to the World Health Organisation.
It damages blood vessels and can cause extensive bleeding, diarrhoea and shock. The virus killed more than 240 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1995.
Several outbreaks, which resulted in 254 deaths, occurred between 2001 and 2005 in Gabon and the Republic of Congo.
The virus is transmitted by infected body fluids and kills up to 90 percent of victims, depending on the strain. There is no cure for Ebola.
Leroy and his team captured and tested more than 1,000 animals in Ebola-infected areas of Africa to find possible reservoirs of infection.
Each of the bat species that showed evidence of the virus had a geographical range that included regions where human outbreaks of Ebola had occurred.
The researchers said the findings could help to reduce infections in both great apes and people.
"Human infection directly from fruit bats might in part be countered by education, as these animals are eaten by local populations living in the outbreak regions," Leroy added.
