To date, several studies have identified bat-infecting CoVs in countries of continental Africa, including Zimbabwe 24, South Africa 25, 26, Namibia 27, and Kenya 28, 29. three species on Reunion Island), whereas SECA supports a wide range of bat species. The smaller studied islands of the Western Indian Ocean, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion Island, and Mahé (Seychelles), host reduced bat species diversity (e.g. On Madagascar, more than 45 bat species are known to occur, of which more than 80% are endemic to the island 21, 22, 23. The ecological settings and species diversity on these islands for bats are notably different. These islands have diverse geological origins that have influenced the process of bat colonization and species distributions 20. Our study area spans geographic locations across the islands of the Western Indian Ocean and southeastern continental Africa (SECA) (Fig. For instance, in 2003, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) CoV emerged in humans, after spillover from bats to civets 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and led to the infection of 8,096 people and 774 deaths in less than a year 19. Indeed, several CoVs originating from bats have emerged in humans and livestock with sometimes major impacts to public health. Bats are also recognized as reservoirs of many zoonotic pathogens, including coronaviruses (CoVs) 11, 12, 13. They provide key ecosystem services such as crop pest regulation, pollination, seed dispersal, and soil fertilization 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Investigation of the potential zoonotic pathogens in wild animals, particularly vertebrates, is thus critical for emerging infectious disease preparedness and responses.īats represent nearly 1,400 species and live on all continents except Antarctica 2. This list also highlights the potential pandemic risk from the emergence of currently unknown zoonotic pathogens, collectively referring to these unknown threats as “disease X″ 1. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the “Blueprint priority disease list”, identifying viruses such as Ebola, Lassa fever, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Nipah fever as significant threats to international biosecurity 1. The burden of emerging infectious diseases has significantly increased over the last decades and is recognized as a major global health concern. Future studies should investigate whether CoVs detected in these bats have a potential for spillover in other hosts. These results highlight that strong variation between islands does exist and is associated with the composition of the bat species community on each island. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a large diversity of α- and β-CoVs and a strong signal of co-evolution between CoVs and their bat host species, with limited evidence for host-switching, except for bat species sharing day roost sites. In total, 88 bats (8.7%) tested positive for coronaviruses, with higher prevalence in Mozambican bats (20.5% ± 4.9%) as compared to those sampled on islands (4.5% ± 1.5%). In this study, we tested 1,013 bats belonging to 36 species from Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion Island and Seychelles, based on molecular screening and partial sequencing of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene. The islands of the Western Indian Ocean are identified as a major biodiversity hotspot, with more than 50 bat species. Bats are also major hosts for biological agents responsible for zoonoses, such as coronaviruses (CoVs). Bats provide key ecosystem services such as crop pest regulation, pollination, seed dispersal, and soil fertilization.
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