Detection of Bombali Virus in a <i>Mops condylurus</i> Bat in Kyela, Tanzania.

ABSTRACT: Bombali virus (BOMV) is a novel Orthoebolavirus that has been detected in free-tailed bats in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Kenya, and Mozambique. We screened our collection of 349 free-tailed bat lungs collected in Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania for BOMV RNA and tested 228 bat blood samples for BOMV antibodies. We did not detect BOMV-specific antibodies but found BOMV RNA in a Mops condylurus bat from Tanzania, marking the first detection of an ebolavirus in this country. Our findings further expand the geographic range of BOMV and support M. condylurus' role as a natural BOMV host.

SUBMITTER: Dux A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11358901 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature