Publications

cone photoreceptor diversity in the retinas of fruit bats (megachiroptera).	older studies have claimed that bats including the megachiroptera (fruit bats or flying foxes) have pure-rod retinas and possess no cone photoreceptors. we have determined the presence and the population densities of spectral cone types in six megachiropteran species belonging to four genera: pteropus rufus, p. niger, p. rodricensis, rousettus madagascariensis, eidolon dupreanum, and epomophorus gambianus. spectral cone types and rods were assessed immunocytochemically with opsin-specific antibo ...	2007	17522478
antibodies against lagos bat virus in megachiroptera from west africa.	to investigate the presence of lagos bat virus (lbv)-specific antibodies in megachiroptera from west africa, we conducted fluorescent antibody virus neutralization tests. neutralizing antibodies were detected in eidolon helvum (37%), epomophorus gambianus (3%), and epomops buettikoferi (33%, 2/6) from ghana. these findings confirm the presence of lbv in west africa.	2008	18507903
evidence of lagos bat virus circulation among nigerian fruit bats.	during lyssavirus surveillance, 350 brains from four species of fruit bats and one species of insectivorous bat were collected from seven locations in northern nigeria during may to october, 2006. lyssavirus antigen was not detected in the brains, and isolation attempts in mice were unsuccessful. however, serologic tests demonstrated the presence of lyssavirus-neutralizing antibodies in bat sera. of 140 sera tested, 27 (19%) neutralized lagos bat virus, and two of these additionally neutralized ...	2010	20090042
dna barcoding of african fruit bats (mammalia, pteropodidae). the mitochondrial genome does not provide a reliable discrimination between epomophorus gambianus and micropteropus pusillus.	sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit i (coi) gene have been shown to be useful for species identification in various groups of animals. however, the dna barcoding approach has never been tested on african fruit bats of the family pteropodidae (mammalia, chiroptera). in this study, the coi gene was sequenced from 120 bats collected in the central african republic and belonging to either epomophorus gambianus or micropteropus pusillus, two species easily diagnosed on the bas ...	2011	21784364
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
highly diverse population of picornaviridae and other members of the picornavirales, in cameroonian fruit bats.	the order picornavirales represents a diverse group of positive-stranded rna viruses with small non-enveloped icosahedral virions. recently, bats have been identified as an important reservoir of several highly pathogenic human viruses. since many members of the picornaviridae family cause a wide range of diseases in humans and animals, this study aimed to characterize members of the order picornavirales in fruit bat populations located in the southwest region of cameroon. these bat populations ...	2017	28335731
tissue distribution of the mers-coronavirus receptor in bats.	middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (mers-cov) has been shown to infect both humans and dromedary camels using dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (dpp4) as its receptor. the distribution of dpp4 in the respiratory tract tissues of humans and camels reflects mers-cov tropism. apart from dromedary camels, insectivorous bats are suggested as another natural reservoir for mers-like-covs. in order to gain insight on the tropism of these viruses in bats, we studied the dpp4 distribution in the respirator ...	2017	28446791
novel highly divergent sapoviruses detected by metagenomics analysis in straw-colored fruit bats in cameroon.	sapoviruses (savs) belong to the sapovirus genus, in the family caliciviridae. they have been associated with gastroenteritis in humans and in pigs but not in other animals. in addition, some strains from pigs, chimpanzees and rodents show close sequence identity with human savs thereby suggesting the possibility of interspecies transmissions. bats are known to be a major reservoir of zoonotic viruses, however, very little is known about the genetic diversity of savs in bats. to explore the gene ...	2017	28536431
living with bats: the case of ve golokuati township in the volta region of ghana.	transmission of zoonotic pathogens from bats to humans through direct and indirect contact with bats raises public apprehension about living close to bats. in the township of ve golokuati in ghana, several "camps" ofepomophorus gambianusroost in fruit trees that provide ecosystems services for residents. this study explored human-bat interaction in the township and the potential risks of disease transmission from bats to humans. data were derived through questionnaire administration and particip ...	2017	29081813
cameroonian fruit bats harbor divergent viruses, including rotavirus h, bastroviruses, and picobirnaviruses using an alternative genetic code.	most human emerging infectious diseases originate from wildlife and bats are a major reservoir of viruses, a few of which have been highly pathogenic to humans. in some regions of cameroon, bats are hunted and eaten as a delicacy. this close proximity between human and bats provides ample opportunity for zoonotic events. to elucidate the viral diversity of cameroonian fruit bats, we collected and metagenomically screened eighty-seven fecal samples of eidolon helvum and epomophorus gambianus frui ...	2018	29644096
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
the gambian epauletted fruit bat shows increased genetic divergence in the ethiopian highlands and in an area of rapid urbanization.	the gambian epauletted fruit bat (epomophorus gambianus) is an abundant species that roosts in both urban and rural settings. the possible role of e. gambianus as a reservoir host of zoonotic diseases underlines the need to better understand the species movement patterns. so far, neither observational nor phylogenetic studies have identified the dispersal range or behavior of this species. comparative analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear markers from 20 localities across the known distribution ...	2018	30619584
seasonal variation in food availability and relative importance of dietary items in the gambian epauletted fruit bat (epomophorus gambianus).	the gambian epauletted fruit bat (epomophorus gambianus) is very common across a variety of west african habitats, but very little information is available on its feeding ecology or its contribution to ecosystem function.we investigated seasonal variation in food availability and the relative importance of dietary items used by this species in a forest-savannah transitional ecosystem. dietary items were identified from 1,470 samples of fecal and ejecta pellets which had been collected under day ...	2019	31160990