Attempted Transmission of Marburg Virus by Bat-Associated Fleas Thaumapsylla breviceps breviceps (Ischnopsyllidae: Thaumapsyllinae) to the Egyptian Rousette Bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus)

The Egyptian rousette bat (ERB; Rousettus aegyptiacus) has been implicated as a reservoir host for Marburg virus (MARV) and it has been suggested to be associated with the transmission of MARV to humans. However, the mechanism by which MARV are maintained within the ERB population is not understood. Bats are hosts to many external parasites, including fleas but little is known about these host-vector-pathogen interactions. Sufficient MARV RNA were detected in fleas sucked from ERBs with viremia due to MARV inoculation. Bats in contact with flea-parasitized MARV-infected bats didn’t exhibit viremia. Bats parasitized with MARV-inoculated fleas did not show viremia or seroconversion until 38 days after infection. These results suggest that fleas don’t appear to be involved in the biological transmission of MARV, but may well be involved in mechanical transmission.
(SM)