Sosuga Virus Detected in Egyptian Rousette Bats ( Rousettus aegyptiacus ) in Sierra Leone

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 16; no. 4; p. 648
• Main Authors: Amman, Brian R, Koroma, Alusine H, Schuh, Amy J, Conteh, Immah, Sealy, Tara K, Foday, Ibrahim, Johnny, Jonathan, Bakarr, Ibrahim A, Whitmer, Shannon L M, Wright, Emily A, Gbakima, Aiah A, Graziano, James, Bangura, Camilla, Kamanda, Emmanuel, Osborne, Augustus, Saidu, Emmanuel, Musa, Jonathan A, Bangura, Doris F, Williams, Sammuel M T, Fefegula, George M, Sumaila, Christian, Jabaty, Juliet, James, Fatmata H, Jambai, Amara, Garnett, Kate, Kamara, Thomas F, Towner, Jonathan S, Lebbie, Aiah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.04.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Antigens; Bats; Biological monitoring; Chiroptera - virology; Disease control; Disease Reservoirs - virology; Egyptian rousette; Exocrine glands; Humans; Infection; International economic relations; Lymphatic system; Marburg virus disease; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Methods; Paramyxoviridae Infections - epidemiology; Paramyxoviridae Infections - veterinary; Paramyxoviridae Infections - virology; paramyxovirus; Paramyxoviruses; Penicillin; Phylogeny; Range extension; RNA; RNA, Viral - genetics; Rousettus aegyptiacus; Scientific equipment and supplies industry; Sierra Leone - epidemiology; Sosuga virus; Species; Viruses; zoonotic viruses; Sierra Leone; Uganda; United States; Egypt; South Africa; United States > US; Sosuga virus; Rousettus aegyptiacus; zoonotic viruses; range extension; viral zoonoses; Egyptian rousette; disease ecology; paramyxovirus
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v16040648

Sosuga virus (SOSV), a rare human pathogenic paramyxovirus, was first discovered in 2012 when a person became ill after working in South Sudan and Uganda. During an ecological investigation, several species of bats were sampled and tested for SOSV RNA and only one species, the Egyptian rousette bat (ERBs; ), tested positive. Since that time, multiple other species have been sampled and ERBs in Uganda have continued to be the only species of bat positive for SOSV infection. Subsequent studies of ERBs with SOSV demonstrated that ERBs are a competent host for SOSV and shed this infectious virus while exhibiting only minor infection-associated pathology. Following the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, surveillance efforts focused on discovering reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens resulted in the capture and testing of many bat species. Here, SOSV RNA was detected by qRT-PCR only in ERBs captured in the Moyamba District of Sierra Leone in the central region of the country. These findings represent a substantial range extension from East Africa to West Africa for SOSV, suggesting that this paramyxovirus may occur in ERB populations throughout its sub-Saharan African range.