Studies of reservoir hosts for Marburg virus

Robert Swanepoel, Sheilagh B. Smit, Pierre E. Rollin, Pierre Formenty, Patricia A. Leman, Alan Kemp, Felicity J. Burt, Antoinette A. Grobbelaar, Janice Croft, Daniel G. Bausch, Hervé Zeller, Herwig Leirs, L. E.O. Braack, Modeste L. Libande, Sherif Zaki, Stuart T. Nichol, Thomas G. Ksiazek, Janusz T. Paweska

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

228 Scopus citations

Abstract

To determine reservoir hosts for Marburg virus (MARV), we examined the fauna of a mine in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mine was associated with a protracted outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever during 1998-2000. We found MARV nucleic acid in 12 bats, comprising 3.0%-3.6% of 2 species of insectivorous bat and 1 species of fruit bat. We found antibody to the virus in the serum of 9.7% of 1 of the insectivorous species and in 20.5% of the fruit bat species, but attempts to isolate virus were unsuccessful.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1847-1851
Number of pages5
JournalEmerging infectious diseases
Volume13
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2007
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

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