Wide Diversity of Coronaviruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bat Species: A Pilot Study in Guinea, West Africa.

ABSTRACT: Zoonoses can constitute a threat for public health that can have a global importance, as seen with the current COVID-19 pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV2). Bats have been recognized as an important reservoir of zoonotic coronaviruses (CoVs). In West Africa, where there is a high diversity of bat species, little is known on the circulation of CoVs in these hosts, especially at the interface with human populations. In this study, in Guinea, we tested a total of 319 bats belonging to 14 genera and six families of insectivorous and frugivorous bats across the country, for the presence of coronaviruses. We found CoVs in 35 (11%) of the tested bats-in three insectivorous bat species and five fruit bat species that were mostly captured close to human habitat. Po

SUBMITTER: Lacroix A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7472279 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature