Robust evidence for bats as reservoir hosts is lacking in most African virus studies: a review and call to optimize sampling and conserve bats

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dc.contributor.authorWeber, Natalie
dc.contributor.authorNagy, Martina
dc.contributor.authorMarkotter, Wanda
dc.contributor.authorSchaer, Juliane
dc.contributor.authorPuechmaille, Sébastien J.
dc.contributor.authorSutton, Jack
dc.contributor.authorDávalos, Liliana M.
dc.contributor.authorDusabe, Marie-Claire
dc.contributor.authorEjotre, Imran
dc.contributor.authorFenton, M. Brock
dc.contributor.authorKnörnschild, Mirjam
dc.contributor.authorLópez-Baucells, Adrià
dc.contributor.authorMedellin, Rodrigo A.
dc.contributor.authorMetz, Markus
dc.contributor.authorMubareka, Samira
dc.contributor.authorNsengimana, Olivier
dc.contributor.authorO'Mara, M. Teague
dc.contributor.authorRacey, Paul A.
dc.contributor.authorTuttle, Merlin
dc.contributor.authorTwizeyimana, Innocent
dc.contributor.authorVicente-Santos, Amanda
dc.contributor.authorTschapka, Marco
dc.contributor.authorVoigt, Christian C.
dc.contributor.authorWikelski, Martin
dc.contributor.authorDechmann, Dina K.N.
dc.contributor.authorReeder, DeeAnn M.
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-04T09:06:48Z
dc.date.available2024-07-04T09:06:48Z
dc.date.issued2023-11-15
dc.description.abstractAfrica experiences frequent emerging disease outbreaks among humans, with bats often proposed as zoonotic pathogen hosts. We comprehensively reviewed virus–bat findings from papers published between 1978 and 2020 to evaluate the evidence that African bats are reservoir and/or bridging hosts for viruses that cause human disease. We present data from 162 papers (of 1322) with original findings on (1) numbers and species of bats sampled across bat families and the continent, (2) how bats were selected for study inclusion, (3) if bats were terminally sampled, (4) what types of ecological data, if any, were recorded and (5) which viruses were detected and with what methodology. We propose a scheme for evaluating presumed virus–host relationships by evidence type and quality, using the contrasting available evidence for Orthoebolavirus versus Orthomarburgvirus as an example. We review the wording in abstracts and discussions of all 162 papers, identifying key framing terms, how these refer to findings, and how they might contribute to people's beliefs about bats. We discuss the impact of scientific research communication on public perception and emphasize the need for strategies that minimize human–bat conflict and support bat conservation. Finally, we make recommendations for best practices that will improve virological study metadata.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipMax Planck Society; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (grant no. R01AI151144) (D.M.R. and I.E.); German Academic Exchange Service (I.E.) and by the German Research Foundation [437846632] (J.S.); the Institut Universitaire de France (S.J.P.); South African Research Chair Initiative of the Department of Science and Innovation and administered by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa (grant no. UID:98339) (W.M.);National Geographic and Rolex grants.en_US
dc.identifier.citationWeber, N., Nagy, M., Markotter, W., Schaer, J., Puechmaille, S. J., Sutton, J., ... & Reeder, D. M. (2023). Robust evidence for bats as reservoir hosts is lacking in most African virus studies: a review and call to optimize sampling and conserve bats. Biology Letters, 19(11), 20230358. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0358en_US
dc.identifier.issn1744-957X
dc.identifier.urihttps://dir.muni.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12260/659
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherRoyal Societyen_US
dc.subjectAfrican Chiropteraen_US
dc.subjectVirus–host relationshipen_US
dc.subjectVirological metadataen_US
dc.subjectFramingen_US
dc.subjectOne Healthen_US
dc.titleRobust evidence for bats as reservoir hosts is lacking in most African virus studies: a review and call to optimize sampling and conserve batsen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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