Publications

spatial and temporal patterns of zaire ebolavirus antibody prevalence in the possible reservoir bat species.	to characterize the distribution of zaire ebolavirus (zebov) infection within the 3 bat species (epomops franqueti, hypsignathus monstrosus, and myonycteris torquata) that are possible reservoirs, we collected 1390 bats during 2003-2006 in gabon and the republic of the congo. detection of zebov immunoglobulin g (igg) in 40 specimens supports the role of these bat species as the zebov reservoirs. zebov igg prevalence rates (5%) were homogeneous across epidemic and nonepidemic regions during outbr ...	2007	17940947
ebolavirus and other filoviruses.	since ebola fever emerged in central africa in 1976, a number of studies have been undertaken to investigate its natural history and to characterize its transmission from a hypothetical reservoir host(s) to humans. this research has comprised investigations on a variety of animals and their characterization as intermediate, incidental, amplifying, reservoir, or vector hosts. a viral transmission chain was recently unveiled after a long absence of epidemic ebola fever. animal trapping missions we ...	2007	17848072
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
[bats and other reservoir hosts of filoviridae. danger of epidemic on the african continent?--a deductive literature analysis].	ebola and marburg virus, forming the filoviridae family, cause hemorrhagic fever in countries of sub-saharan africa. these viral diseases are characterized by a sudden epidemic occurrence as well as a high lethality. even though a reservoir host has not been approved yet, literature indicates the order of bats (chiroptera) as a potential reservoir host. significant references lead to a delineation of a hypothetical ecosystem of filoviridae including chiroptera. igg-specific ebola-zaire antibodie ...	2010	20924703
molecular systematics and phylogeography of the tribe myonycterini (mammalia, pteropodidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers.	the tribe myonycterini comprises five fruit bat species of the family pteropodidae, which are endemic to tropical africa. previous studies have produced conflicting results about their interspecific relationships. here, we performed a comparative phylogeographic analysis based on 148 complete cytochrome b gene sequences from the three species distributed in west africa and central africa (myonycteris torquata, lissonycteris angolensis and megaloglossus woermanni). in addition, we investigated ph ...	2013	23063885
highly diverse and antimicrobial susceptible escherichia coli display a naïve bacterial population in fruit bats from the republic of congo.	bats are suspected to be a reservoir of several bacterial and viral pathogens relevant to animal and human health, but studies on escherichia coli in these animals are sparse. we investigated the presence of e. coli in tissue samples (liver, lung and intestines) collected from 50 fruit bats of five different species (eidolon helvum, epomops franqueti, hypsignathus monstrosus, myonycteris torquata, rousettus aegyptiacus) of two different areas in the republic of congo between 2009 and 2010. to as ...	2017	28700648
exposure to lyssaviruses in bats of the democratic republic of the congo.	lyssavirus infections in the democratic republic of congo are poorly documented. we examined 218 bats. no lyssavirus antigens were detected but lagos bat virus (lbv) neutralizing antibodies (vna) were detected in eidolon helvum and myonycteris torquata . four samples with lbv vna reacted against shimoni bat virus.	2017	28151079
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