Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic

• DOI: 10.15252/emmm.201404792
• Publication Date: 2014-12-31T04:33:11Z
• Authors: Almudena Marí Saéz; Sabrina Weiss; Kathrin Nowak; Vincent Lapeyre; Fee Zimmermann; Ariane Düx; Hjalmar S Kühl; Moussa Kaba; Sebastien Regnaut; Kevin Merkel; Andreas Sachse; Ulla Thiesen; Lili Villányi; Christophe Boesch; Piotr W Dabrowski; Aleksandar Radonić; Andreas Nitsche; Siv Aina J Leendertz; Stefan Petterson; Stephan Becker; Verena Krähling; Emmanuel Couacy‐H...; Chantal Akoua‐Koffi; Natalie Weber; Lars Schaade; Jakob Fahr; Matthias Borchert; Jan F Gogarten; Sébastien Calvign...; Fabian H Leendertz
• Keywords: Insectivore; Ebolavirus; Wildlife disease

Abstract The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to 2‐year‐old boy Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the origins of using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses bat environmental samples. found no evidence for concurrent outbreak larger wildlife. Exposure fruit bats is common region, but index case may have been infected by playing hollow tree housing colony insectivorous free‐tailed ( Mops condylurus ). Bats this family previously discussed as potential sources outbreaks, experimental data shown that species can survive infection. These expand range possible include reiterate importance broader sampling efforts understanding ecology.