o:1624 Zaire ebolavirus surveillance near the Bikoro region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the 2018 outbreak reveals presence of seropositive bats en On the 8th of May, 2018, an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) was declared, originating in the Bikoro region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) near the border with neighboring Republic of the Congo (ROC). Frequent trade and migration occur between DRC and ROC-based communities residing along the Congo River. In June 2018, a field team was deployed to determine whether Zaire ebolavirus (Ebola virus (EBOV)) was contemporaneously circulating in local bats at the human-animal interface in ROC near the Bikoro EVD outbreak. Samples were collected from bats in the Cuvette and Likouala departments, ROC, bordering the Équateur Province in DRC where the Bikoro EVD outbreak was first detected. EBOV genomic material was not detected in bat-derived samples by targeted quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction or by family-level consensus polymerase chain reaction; however, serological data suggests recent exposure to EBOV in bats in the region. We collected serum from 144 bats in the Cuvette department with 6.9% seropositivity against the EBOV glycoprotein and 14.3% seropositivity for serum collected from 27 fruit bats and one Molossinae in the Likouala department. We conclude that proactive investment in longitudinal sampling for filoviruses at the human-animal interface, coupled with ecological investigations are needed to identify EBOV wildlife reservoirs. Fruit Bats; Reservoirs; Infection; Virus 1552099 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010504 2023-05-11T13:22:33.968Z 44 yes 46 Stephanie N. Seifert Washington State University / National Institutes of Health 0000-0002-4397-6156 Vincent J. Munster National Institutes of Health person Fabien Roch Niama Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person Chris Walzer University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna / Wildlife Conservation Society person 0000-0002-0437-5147 Sarah H Olson Wildlife Conservation Society person 0000-0002-8484-9006 Jean-Vivien Mombouli Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person César Muñoz-Fontela Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine person Francine Ntoumi Université Marien N'Gouabi / Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale / University of Tübingen person Alain I. Ondzie Wildlife Conservation Society person 0000-0001-5495-3876 Kevin Tolovou Samabide Laboratoire National de Santé Publique / Université Marien N'Gouabi person Rock Aimé Nina Ministére de L'Agriculture et de L'Élevage person Valchy Bel-Bebi Miegakanda Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person 0000-0002-4896-0671 Yanne Mavoungou Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person Lucette Nathalie Macosso Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person Igor Louzolo Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person Serge D. Kaba Wildlife Conservation Society person 0000-0003-0265-2080 Ghislain Dzeret Indolo Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person Ankara Dieudonne Ministére de L'Agriculture et de L'Élevage person Vishnou Reize Bani Ampiri Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person Beal-Junior Akoundzie Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person Beatriz Escudero-Pérez Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine / German Centre for Infection Research person Jonathan E. Schulz National Institutes of Health person 0000-0001-5462-5952 Marc-Joël Akongo Wildlife Conservation Society person Gerard Bounga Wildlife Conservation Society person 0000-0001-6206-6417 Cynthia Badzi Nkoua Laboratoire National de Santé Publique person 0000-0002-5600-3521 Robert J. Fischer National Institutes of Health person Eeva Kuisma Wildlife Conservation Society person application/pdf 815155 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:1624 no yes 16 70 1552253 PloS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11 16 6 Public Library of Science 2022