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. 2020 Nov 24;12(12):1347.
doi: 10.3390/v12121347.

Detection of Ebola Virus Antibodies in Fecal Samples of Great Apes in Gabon

Illich M Mombo  1 , Matthieu Fritz  2 , Pierre Becquart  2 , Florian Liegeois  2 , Eric Elguero  2 , Larson Boundenga  1 , Telstar N Mebaley  1 , Franck Prugnolle  2 , Gael D Maganga  1   3 , Eric M Leroy  2
Affiliations

Detection of Ebola Virus Antibodies in Fecal Samples of Great Apes in Gabon

Illich M Mombo et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Based on a large study conducted on wild great ape fecal samples collected in regions of Gabon where previous human outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have occurred between 1994 and 2002, we provide evidence for prevalence of Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV)-specific antibodies of 3.9% (immunoglobulin G (IgG)) and 3.5% (immunoglobulin M (IgM)) in chimpanzees and 8.8% (IgG) and 2.4% (IgM) in gorillas. Importantly, we observed a high local prevalence (31.2%) of anti-EBOV IgG antibodies in gorilla samples. This high local rate of positivity among wild great apes raises the question of a spatially and temporally localized increase in EBOV exposure risk and the role that can be played by these animals as sentinels of the virus's spread or reemergence in a given area.

Keywords: Africa; Ebola; Luminex; great ape.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sampling locations. The area of sharp great ape population decline is highlighted in orange. Green circles represent the sites where fecal samples were collected; red circles represent sites where positive fecal samples were collected. Red stars represent locations where human Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) epidemics occurred.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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