Cantoni, DiegoMayora-Neto, MartinDerveni, MarilizaDa Costa, KellyDel Rosario, JoanneAmeh, Veronica OdinyaSabeta, Claude TauraiAuld, BethanyHamlet, ArranJones, Ian M.Wright, EdwardScott, Simon D.Giotis, Efstathios S.Banyard, Ashley C.Temperton, Nigel2024-06-252024-06-252023-11-27Cantoni, D., Mayora-Neto, M., Derveni, M., Da Costa, K., Del Rosario, J., Ameh, V.O., Sabeta, C.T., Auld, B., Hamlet, A., Jones, I.M., Wrigh,t E., Scott, S.D., Giotis, E.S., Banyard, A.C. & Temperton, N. (2023) Serological evidence of virus infection in Eidolon helvum fruit bats: implications for bushmeat consumption in Nigeria. Frontiers in Public Health 11:1283113. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1283113.2296-2565 (online)10.3389/fpubh.2023.1283113http://hdl.handle.net/2263/96647DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.INTRODUCTION : The Eidolon helvum fruit bat is one of the most widely distributed fruit bats in Africa and known to be a reservoir for several pathogenic viruses that can cause disease in animals and humans. To assess the risk of zoonotic spillover, we conducted a serological survey of 304 serum samples from E. helvum bats that were captured for human consumption in Makurdi, Nigeria. METHODS : Using pseudotyped viruses, we screened 304 serum samples for neutralizing antibodies against viruses from the Coronaviridae, Filoviridae, Orthomyxoviridae and Paramyxoviridae families. RESULTS : We report the presence of neutralizing antibodies against henipavirus lineage GH-M74a virus (odds ratio 6.23; p < 0.001), Nipah virus (odds ratio 4.04; p = 0.00031), bat influenza H17N10 virus (odds ratio 7.25; p < 0.001) and no significant association with Ebola virus (odds ratio 0.56; p = 0.375) in this bat cohort. CONCLUSION : The data suggest a potential risk of zoonotic spillover including the possible circulation of highly pathogenic viruses in E. helvum populations. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining sero-surveillance of E. helvum, and the necessity for further, more comprehensive investigations to monitor changes in virus prevalence, distribution over time, and across different geographic locations.en© 2023 Cantoni, Mayora-Neto, Derveni, Da Costa, Del Rosario, Ameh, Sabeta, Auld, Hamlet, Jones, Wright, Scott, Giotis, Banyard and Temperton. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).Eidolon helvumPseudotypesEbola virusNipah virusMarburg virus (MARV)HenipavirusH17N10Ghana bat henipavirusNigeriaFruit bat (Eidolon helvum)SDG-03: Good health and well-beingArticle