A novel Coltivirus-related virus isolated from free-tailed bats from Côte d’Ivoire is able to infect human cells in vitro

Background: Zoonotic transmission events play a major role in the emergence of novel diseases. While such events are virtually impossible to predict, wildlife screening for potential emerging pathogens can be a first step. Driven by recent disease epidemics like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and Ebola, bats have gained special interest as reservoirs of emerging viruses. Methods: As part of a bigger study investigating pathogens in African bats we screened animals for the presence of known and unknown viruses. Results: We isolated and characterised a novel reovirus from blood of free-tailed bats (Chaereophon aloysiisabaudiae) captured in 2006 in Côte d’Ivoire. The virus showed closest relationship with two human pathogenic viruses, Colorado tick fever virus and Eyach virus, and was able to infect various human cell lines in vitro. Conclusion: The study shows the presence of a coltivirus-related virus in bats from Sub-Sahara Africa. Serological studies could help to assess its impact on humans or wildlife health

Assessing the feasibility of fly based surveillance of wildlife infectious diseases

Monitoring wildlife infectious agents requires acquiring samples suitable for analyses, which is often logistically demanding. A possible alternative to invasive or non-invasive sampling of wild-living vertebrates is the use of vertebrate material contained in invertebrates feeding on them, their feces, or their remains. Carrion flies have been shown to contain vertebrate DNA; here we investigate whether they might also be suitable for wildlife pathogen detection. We collected 498 flies in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, a tropical rainforest and examined them for adenoviruses (family Adenoviridae), whose DNA is frequently shed in feces of local mammals. Adenoviral DNA was detected in 6/142 mammal-positive flies. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that five of these sequences were closely related to sequences obtained from local non-human primates, while the sixth sequence was closely related to a murine adenovirus. Next-generation sequencing-based DNA-profiling of the meals of the respective flies identified putative hosts that were a good fit to those suggested by adenoviral sequence affinities. We conclude that, while characterizing the genetic diversity of wildlife infectious agents through fly-based monitoring may not be cost-efficient, this method could probably be used to detect the genetic material of wildlife infectious agents causing wildlife mass mortality in pristine areas

Detection of Retroviral Super-Infection from Non-Invasive Samples

While much attention has been focused on the molecular epidemiology of retroviruses in wild primate populations, the correlated question of the frequency and nature of super-infection events, i.e., the simultaneous infection of the same individual host with several strains of the same virus, has remained largely neglected. In particular, methods possibly allowing the investigation of super-infection from samples collected non-invasively (such as faeces) have never been properly compared. Here, we fill in this gap by assessing the costs and benefits of end-point dilution PCR (EPD-PCR) and multiple bulk-PCR cloning, as applied to a case study focusing on simian foamy virus super-infection in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We show that, although considered to be the gold standard, EPD-PCR can lead to massive consumption of biological material when only low copy numbers of the target are expected. This constitutes a serious drawback in a field in which rarity of biological material is a fundamental constraint. In addition, we demonstrate that EPD-PCR results (single/multiple infection; founder strains) can be well predicted from multiple bulk-PCR clone experiments, by applying simple statistical and network analyses to sequence alignments. We therefore recommend the implementation of the latter method when the focus is put on retroviral super-infection and only low retroviral loads are encountered

No evidence for transmission of SIVwrc from western red colobus monkeys (piliocolobus badius badius) to wild west african chimpanzees (pan troglodytes verus) despite high exposure through hunting

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Simian Immunodeficiency Viruses (SIVs) are the precursors of Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIVs) which have lead to the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic. By studying SIVs in wild primates we can better understand the circulation of these viruses in their natural hosts and habitat, and perhaps identify factors that influence susceptibility and transmission within and between various host species. We investigated the SIV status of wild West African chimpanzees (<it>Pan troglodytes verus) </it>which frequently hunt and consume the western red colobus monkey (<it>Piliocolobus badius badius</it>), a species known to be infected to a high percentage with its specific SIV strain (SIVwrc).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Blood and plasma samples from 32 wild chimpanzees were tested with INNO-LIA HIV I/II Score kit to detect cross-reactive antibodies to HIV antigens. Twenty-three of the samples were also tested for antibodies to 43 specific SIV and HIV lineages, including SIVwrc. Tissue samples from all but two chimpanzees were tested for SIV by PCRs using generic SIV primers that detect all known primate lentiviruses as well as primers designed to specifically detect SIVwrc. Seventeen of the chimpanzees showed varying degrees of cross-reactivity to the HIV specific antigens in the INNO-LIA test; however no sample had antibodies to SIV or HIV strain - and lineage specific antigens in the Luminex test. No SIV DNA was found in any of the samples.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We could not detect any conclusive trace of SIV infection from the red colobus monkeys in the chimpanzees, despite high exposure to this virus through frequent hunting. The results of our study raise interesting questions regarding the host-parasite relationship of SIVwrc and wild chimpanzees in their natural habitat.</p

Pasteurella multocida Involved in Respiratory Disease of Wild Chimpanzees

Pasteurella multocida can cause a variety of diseases in various species of mammals and birds throughout the world but nothing is known about its importance for wild great apes. In this study we isolated P. multocida from wild living, habituated chimpanzees from Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. Isolates originated from two chimpanzees that died during a respiratory disease outbreak in 2004 as well as from one individual that developed chronic air-sacculitis following this outbreak. Four isolates were subjected to a full phenotypic and molecular characterisation. Two different clones were identified using pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) enabled the identification of previous unknown alleles and two new sequence types, ST68 and ST69, were assigned. Phylogenetic analysis of the superoxide dismutase (sodA) gene and concatenated sequences from seven MLST-housekeeping genes showed close clustering within known P. multocida isolated from various hosts and geographic locations. Due to the clinical relevance of the strains described here, these results make an important contribution to our knowledge of pathogens involved in lethal disease outbreaks among endangered great apes

Ebola virus disease: an orphan zoonosis ?

The gigantic Ebola virus disease outbreak that recently swept several West African countries has revealed how little we know about this infectious disease. The question of the animal reservoir of this zoonosis remains particularly mysterious. Bats seem to be involved in the ecology of the virus but it remains unclear whether or not they may be at the origin of spill-over events towards humans. Almost 40 years after the discovery of the Ebola virus, this short communication offers a summary of the progresses made and an outlook on upcoming efforts to solve this outstanding question.La terrible épidémie de maladie à virus Ebola qui a balayé l’Afrique de l’Ouest a mis en évidence combien nos connaissances sur cette maladie infectieuse sont limitées. Une question particulièrement mystérieuse reste celle du réservoir animal de cette zoonose. L’implication des chauves-souris dans l’écologie du virus semble probable mais il n’est pas encore établi qu’elles jouent un rôle dans sa transmission à l’homme. Près de 40 ans après la découverte du virus, cette communication se propose de faire le point sur les savoirs accumulés et de dégager des pistes de réflexion utiles

Non-invasive genomics of respiratory pathogens infecting wild great apes using hybridisation capture

Human respiratory pathogens have repeatedly caused lethal outbreaks in wild great apes across Africa, leading to population declines. Nonetheless, our knowledge of potential genomic changes associated with pathogen introduction and spread at the human-great ape interface remains sparse. Here, we made use of target enrichment coupled with next generation sequencing to non-invasively investigate five outbreaks of human-introduced respiratory disease in wild chimpanzees living in Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. By retrieving 34 complete viral genomes and three distinct constellations of pneumococcal virulence factors, we provide genomic insights into these spillover events and describe a framework for non-invasive genomic surveillance in wildlife.Peer Reviewe

A novel adenovirus of Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Adenoviruses (AdV) broadly infect vertebrate hosts including a variety of primates. We identified a novel AdV in the feces of captive gorillas by isolation in cell culture, electron microscopy and PCR. From the supernatants of infected cultures we amplified DNA polymerase (DPOL), preterminal protein (pTP) and hexon gene sequences with generic pan primate AdV PCR assays. The sequences in-between were amplified by long-distance PCRs of 2 - 10 kb length, resulting in a final sequence of 15.6 kb. Phylogenetic analysis placed the novel gorilla AdV into a cluster of primate AdVs belonging to the species Human adenovirus B (HAdV-B). Depending on the analyzed gene, its position within the cluster was variable. To further elucidate its origin, feces samples of wild gorillas were analyzed. AdV hexon sequences were detected which are indicative for three distinct and novel gorilla HAdV-B viruses, among them a virus nearly identical to the novel AdV isolated from captive gorillas. This shows that the discovered virus is a member of a group of HAdV-B viruses that naturally infect gorillas. The mixed phylogenetic clusters of gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo and human AdVs within the HAdV-B species indicate that host switches may have been a component of the evolution of human and non-human primate HAdV-B viruses