Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 5;10(4):121.
doi: 10.3390/diseases10040121.

Exposure of Egyptian Rousette Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) and a Little Free-Tailed Bat (Chaerephon pumilus) to Alphaviruses in Uganda

Rebekah C Kading  1   2 , Erin M Borland  2 , Eric C Mossel  2 , Teddy Nakayiki  3 , Betty Nalikka  4 , Jeremy P Ledermann  2 , Mary B Crabtree  2 , Nicholas A Panella  2 , Luke Nyakarahuka  3 , Amy T Gilbert  5   6 , Julian C Kerbis-Peterhans  7 , Jonathan S Towner  8 , Brian R Amman  8 , Tara K Sealy  8 , Barry R Miller  2 , Julius J Lutwama  3 , Robert M Kityo  4 , Ann M Powers  2
Affiliations

Exposure of Egyptian Rousette Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) and a Little Free-Tailed Bat (Chaerephon pumilus) to Alphaviruses in Uganda

Rebekah C Kading et al. Diseases. .

Abstract

The reservoir for zoonotic o'nyong-nyong virus (ONNV) has remained unknown since this virus was first recognized in Uganda in 1959. Building on existing evidence for mosquito blood-feeding on various frugivorous bat species in Uganda, and seroprevalence for arboviruses among bats in Uganda, we sought to assess if serum samples collected from bats in Uganda demonstrated evidence of exposure to ONNV or the closely related zoonotic chikungunya virus (CHIKV). In total, 652 serum samples collected from six bat species were tested by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) for neutralizing antibodies against ONNV and CHIKV. Forty out of 303 (13.2%) Egyptian rousettes from Maramagambo Forest and 1/13 (8%) little free-tailed bats from Banga Nakiwogo, Entebbe contained neutralizing antibodies against ONNV. In addition, 2/303 (0.7%) of these Egyptian rousettes contained neutralizing antibodies to CHIKV, and 8/303 (2.6%) contained neutralizing antibodies that were nonspecifically reactive to alphaviruses. These data support the interepidemic circulation of ONNV and CHIKV in Uganda, although Egyptian rousette bats are unlikely to serve as reservoirs for these viruses given the inconsistent occurrence of antibody-positive bats.

Keywords: arbovirus; chikungunya; chiroptera; emerging virus; mosquito; o’nyong-nyong; serology; surveillance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the United States Department of Agriculture.

References

    1. McCrae A.W., Henderson B.E., Kirya B.G., Sempala S.D. Chikungunya Virus in the Entebbe Area of Uganda: Isolations and Epidemiology. Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 1971;65:152–168. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(71)90212-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Haddow A.J., Davies C.W., Walker A.J. O’nyong-Nyong Fever: An Epidemic Virus Disease in East Africa. I. Introduction. Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 1960;54:517–522. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(60)90025-0. - DOI
    1. Weinbren M.P., Haddow A.J., Williams M.C. The Occurrence of Chikungunya Virus in Uganda I. Isolation from Mosquitoes. Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 1958;52:253–262. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(58)90084-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Williams M.C., Woodall J.P., Corbet P.S., Gillett J.D. O’nyong-Nyong Fever: An Epidemic Virus Disease in East Africa. 8. Virus Isolations from Anopheles Mosquitoes. Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 1965;59:300–306. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(65)90012-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Powers A.M., Brault A.C., Tesh R.B., Weaver S.C. Re-Emergence of Chikungunya and O’nyong-Nyong Viruses: Evidence for Distinct Geographical Lineages and Distant Evolutionary Relationships. J. Gen. Virol. 2000;81:471–479. doi: 10.1099/0022-1317-81-2-471. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources