Publications

marburg virus infection detected in a common african bat.	marburg and ebola viruses can cause large hemorrhagic fever (hf) outbreaks with high case fatality (80-90%) in human and great apes. identification of the natural reservoir of these viruses is one of the most important topics in this field and a fundamental key to understanding their natural history. despite the discovery of this virus family almost 40 years ago, the search for the natural reservoir of these lethal pathogens remains an enigma despite numerous ecological studies. here, we report ...	2007	17712412
large serological survey showing cocirculation of ebola and marburg viruses in gabonese bat populations, and a high seroprevalence of both viruses in rousettus aegyptiacus.	ebola and marburg viruses cause highly lethal hemorrhagic fevers in humans. recently, bats of multiple species have been identified as possible natural hosts of zaire ebolavirus (zebov) in gabon and republic of congo, and also of marburgvirus (marv) in gabon and democratic republic of congo.	2009	19785757
establishment of fruit bat cells (rousettus aegyptiacus) as a model system for the investigation of filoviral infection.	the fruit bat species rousettus aegyptiacus was identified as a potential reservoir for the highly pathogenic filovirus marburg virus. to establish a basis for a molecular understanding of the biology of filoviruses in the reservoir host, we have adapted a set of molecular tools for investigation of filovirus replication in a recently developed cell line, r06e, derived from the species rousettus aegyptiacus.	2010	20808767
ebola and marburg virus diseases in africa: increased risk of outbreaks in previously unaffected areas?	filoviral hemorrhagic fever (fhf) is caused by ebolaviruses and marburgviruses, which both belong to the family filoviridae. egyptian fruit bats (rousettus aegyptiacus) are the most likely natural reservoir for marburgviruses and entry into caves and mines that they stay in has often been associated with outbreaks of mvd. on the other hand, the natural reservoir for ebola viruses remains elusive; however, handling of wild animal carcasses has been associated with some outbreaks of evd. in the la ...	2014	25040642
biannual birth pulses allow filoviruses to persist in bat populations.	filoviruses ebolavirus (ebov) and marburgvirus (marv) cause haemorrhagic fevers with high mortality rates, posing significant threats to public health. to understand transmission into human populations, filovirus dynamics within reservoir host populations must be understood. studies have directly linked filoviruses to bats, but the mechanisms allowing viral persistence within bat populations are poorly understood. theory suggests seasonal birthing may decrease the probability of pathogen persist ...	2015	25673678
analysis of cathepsin and furin proteolytic enzymes involved in viral fusion protein activation in cells of the bat reservoir host.	bats of different species play a major role in the emergence and transmission of highly pathogenic viruses including ebola virus, sars-like coronavirus and the henipaviruses. these viruses require proteolytic activation of surface envelope glycoproteins needed for entry, and cellular cathepsins have been shown to be involved in proteolysis of glycoproteins from these distinct virus families. very little is currently known about the available proteases in bats. to determine whether the utilizatio ...	2015	25706132
de novo transcriptome reconstruction and annotation of the egyptian rousette bat.	the egyptian rousette bat (rousettus aegyptiacus), a common fruit bat species found throughout africa and the middle east, was recently identified as a natural reservoir host of marburg virus. with ebola virus, marburg virus is a member of the family filoviridae that causes severe hemorrhagic fever disease in humans and nonhuman primates, but results in little to no pathological consequences in bats. understanding host-pathogen interactions within reservoir host species and how it differs from h ...	2015	26643810
a recently discovered pathogenic paramyxovirus, sosuga virus, is present in rousettus aegyptiacus fruit bats at multiple locations in uganda.	in august 2012, a wildlife biologist became ill immediately following a 6-wk field trip to collect bats and rodents in south sudan and uganda. after returning to the us, the biologist was admitted to the hospital with multiple symptoms including fever, malaise, headache, generalized myalgia and arthralgia, stiffness in the neck, and sore throat. soon after admission, the patient developed a maculopapular rash and oropharynx ulcerations. the patient remained hospitalized for 14 d. several suspect ...	2015	25919464
experimental inoculation of egyptian rousette bats (rousettus aegyptiacus) with viruses of the ebolavirus and marburgvirus genera.	the egyptian rousette bat (rousettus aegyptiacus) is a natural reservoir for marburgviruses and a consistent source of virus spillover to humans. cumulative evidence suggests various bat species may also transmit ebolaviruses. we investigated the susceptibility of egyptian rousettes to each of the five known ebolaviruses (sudan, ebola, bundibugyo, taï forest, and reston), and compared findings with marburg virus. in a pilot study, groups of four juvenile bats were inoculated with one of the ebol ...	2015	26120867
experimental inoculation of egyptian fruit bats (rousettus aegyptiacus) with ebola virus.	colonized egyptian fruit bats (rousettus aegyptiacus), originating in south africa, were inoculated subcutaneously with ebola virus (ebov). no overt signs of morbidity, mortality, or gross lesions were noted. bats seroconverted by day 10-16 post inoculation (p.i.), with the highest mean anti-ebov igg level on day 28 p.i. ebov rna was detected in blood from one bat. in 16 other tissues tested, viral rna distribution was limited and at very low levels. no seroconversion could be demonstrated in an ...	2016	26805873
ebola virus field sample collection.	sampling wildlife for ebolaviruses presents the researcher with a multitude of challenges, foremost of which is safety. throughout the methods described in this chapter, personal safety and personal protective equipment (ppe) will be reiterated for each methodology. the methods described here are those used to successfully detect and isolate marburgviruses from their natural reservoir, rousettus aegyptiacus, and therefore should be applicable for diagnostic testing for ebolaviruses via rt-pcr, e ...	2017	28573636
comparative phylogeography of african fruit bats (chiroptera, pteropodidae) provide new insights into the outbreak of ebola virus disease in west africa, 2014-2016.	both ebolavirus and marburgvirus were detected in several fruit bat species of the family pteropodidae, suggesting that this taxon plays a key role in the life cycle of filoviruses. after four decades of zaire ebolavirus (zebov) outbreaks in central africa, the virus was detected for the first time in west africa in 2014. to better understand the role of fruit bats as potential reservoirs and circulating hosts between central and west africa, we examine here the phylogeny and comparative phyloge ...	2017	27746072
innate immune responses of bat and human cells to filoviruses: commonalities and distinctions.	marburg (marv) and ebola (ebov) viruses are zoonotic pathogens that cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans. the natural reservoir of marv is the egyptian rousette bat (rousettus aegyptiacus); that of ebov is unknown but believed to be another bat species. the egyptian rousette develops subclinical productive infection with marv but is refractory to ebov. interaction of filoviruses with hosts is greatly affected by the viral interferon (ifn)-inhibiting domains (iid). our study was aimed at char ...	2017	28122983
marburg virus viral protein 35 inhibits protein kinase r activation in a cell type-specific manner.	protein kinase r (pkr) is a key antiviral protein involved in sensing and restricting viral infections. here we analyzed the ability of marburg virus (marv) viral protein 35 (vp35) to inhibit pkr activation in human and bat cells. similar to the related ebola and lloviu viruses, marv vp35 was able to inhibit pkr activation in 293t cells. in contrast, we found that marv vp35 did not inhibit human or bat pkr activation in human glioblastoma u-251-mg cells or a rousettus aegyptiacus cell line. addi ...	2018	30165526
survey of ebola viruses in frugivorous and insectivorous bats in guinea, cameroon, and the democratic republic of the congo, 2015-2017.	to clarify the role of bats in the ecology of ebola viruses, we assessed the prevalence of ebola virus antibodies in a large-scale sample of bats collected during 2015-2017 from countries in africa that have had previous ebola outbreaks (guinea, the democratic republic of the congo) or are at high risk for outbreaks (cameroon). we analyzed 4,022 blood samples of bats from >12 frugivorous and 27 insectivorous species; 2-37 (0.05%-0.92%) bats were seropositive for zaire and 0-30 (0%-0.75%) bats fo ...	2018	30307845
rousette bat dendritic cells overcome marburg virus-mediated antiviral responses by upregulation of interferon-related genes while downregulating proinflammatory disease mediators.	dysregulated and maladaptive immune responses are at the forefront of human diseases caused by infection with zoonotic viral hemorrhagic fever viruses. elucidating mechanisms of how the natural animal reservoirs of these viruses coexist with these agents without overt disease, while permitting sufficient replication to allow for transmission and maintenance in a population, is important for understanding the viral ecology and spillover to humans. the egyptian rousette bat (erb) has been identifi ...	2019	31801842
a viral metagenomic survey identifies known and novel mammalian viruses in bats from saudi arabia.	bats are implicated as natural reservoirs for a wide range of zoonotic viruses including sars and mers coronaviruses, ebola, marburg, nipah, hendra, rabies and other lyssaviruses. accordingly, many one health surveillance and viral discovery programs have focused on bats. in this report we present viral metagenomic data from bats collected in the kingdom of saudi arabia [ksa]. unbiased high throughput sequencing of fecal samples from 72 bat individuals comprising four species; lesser mouse-taile ...	2019	30969980
antibody-mediated virus neutralization is not a universal mechanism of marburg, ebola, or sosuga virus clearance in egyptian rousette bats.	although bats are increasingly being recognized as natural reservoir hosts of emerging zoonotic viruses, little is known about how they control and clear virus infection in the absence of clinical disease. here, we test >50 convalescent sera from egyptian rousette bats (erbs) experimentally primed or prime-boosted with marburg virus, ebola virus, or sosuga virus for the presence of virus-specific neutralizing antibodies, using infectious reporter viruses. after serum neutralization testing, we c ...	2019	30590775
recent advances in marburgvirus research.	marburgviruses are closely related to ebolaviruses and cause a devastating disease in humans. in 2012, we published a comprehensive review of the first 45 years of research on marburgviruses and the disease they cause, ranging from molecular biology to ecology. spurred in part by the deadly ebola virus outbreak in west africa in 2013-2016, research on all filoviruses has intensified. not meant as an introduction to marburgviruses, this article instead provides a synopsis of recent progress in ma ...	2019	31131088
past and current advances in marburg virus disease: a review.	marburg virus (marv), along with the ebola virus, belongs to the family of filovirus and is cause of a lethal and severely affecting hemorrhagic fever. the marburgvirus genus includes two viruses: marv and ravn. marv has been recognized as one of utmost importance by the world health organization (who). the case fatality rate of the virus ranges from 24.0 to 88.0% which demonstrates its lethal nature and the need for its widespread information. the first case of the marburgvirus disease (mard) w ...	2020	32920568