OmniVira

Filovirus reactive antibodies in wildlife hunting communities suggest ongoing zoonotic spillover in forested Guinea.

Grace Hood1 Joseph Akoi Bore2 Tom Tipton3 Zézé Onivogui4 Koly Sovogui2 Kpadè Zézé Zoumanigui2 Joseph Timothy5 McKenna Roe6,7 Lianying Yan6,7 Simon Scott8 Nigel Temperton8 Edward Wright9 Gwenda Hughes10 Sanaba Boumbaly11 Eric D Laing7,8 N'Faly Magassouba11 Kimberly Fornace12,13 Miles Carroll14
Affiliations 14 institutions
  1. Pandemic Sciences Institute and Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. [email protected].
  2. Centre de Recherche et d'Analyse Biomédicale (CRAM), Macenta, Republic of Guinea.
  3. Pandemic Sciences Institute and Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
  4. University of Sonfonia, Conakry, Republic of Guinea.
  5. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
  6. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  7. Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Rockville, MD, USA.
  8. Viral Pseudotype Unit, University of Kent and Greenwich, London, UK.
  9. School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, UK.
  10. United Kingdom Public Health Rapid Support Team, London, UK.
  11. Le Centre de Recherche en Virologie, Laboratoire des Fièvres Hémorragiques Virales de Guinée (CRV-LFHVG), Conakry, Republic of Guinea.
  12. Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and National University Health System, National University Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
  13. Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
  14. Pandemic Sciences Institute and Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. [email protected].
PMID42850309 DOI10.1038/s41467-026-77653-3 Year2026 Journal Nature communications Nat Commun Languageeng Publication statusActive
Active Last checked 2026-10-10 03:30:25 Source: NCBI PubMed

Abstract

Forested Guinea has been the site of multiple high-consequence viral spillover events, including the index case of the 2013-16 West African Ebola epidemic. Deforestation and wildlife hunting rapidly expand the human-animal interface, increasing opportunities for transmission. Here we integrate serologic, spatial and questionnaire data to characterize zoonotic filovirus spillover events and risk factors amongst wildlife hunter communities in Forested Guinea. Hunters and close contacts from 43 villages in 2017 (n = 511) and 2023 (n = 648) were screened using a multiplex microsphere-based immunoassay panel of 9 filoviruses, identifying IgG binding against Ebola virus (EBOV) in 57/1159 individuals (4.9%), as well as species-specific binding against Bundibugyo (BDBV) (49/1159, 4.2%), Taï Forest (TAFV) (13/1159, 1.1%), Reston (4/1159, 0.3%), Měnglà (MLAV) (8/1159, 0.7%), Lloviu (LLOV) (8/1159, 0.7%) and Bombali (BOMV) (1/1159, 0.1%) viruses. Parallel pseudotyped virus neutralization assays identified species-specific neutralization of EBOV, BDBV and TAFV, as well as likely cross-neutralization of BOMV, LLOV and MLAV, suggesting multiple zoonotic virus spillover events. Mixed-effects regression analyses of satellite-derived land-cover data identified environmental risk factors (including forest fragmentation) reflecting potential pathways of exposure. Together, our data suggest multiple ongoing zoonotic filovirus spillover events in wildlife hunting communities and highlight the importance of landscape configuration in driving pathogen spillover.

Supporting text Virus Host Location
Animals, Wild 193 Antibodies, Viral 216 Filoviridae 11 Filoviridae Infections 7 Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola 28 Zoonoses 401 Animals 1981 Ebolavirus 32 Forests 13 Guinea 14 Humans 1455 Immunoglobulin G 26

Evidence records

4 total
Zoonotic Surveillance
3 records · 2 evidence types
Evidence type Serological Evidence
2 records
OVE12329 Serological Evidence
Key finding

Human participants from wildlife hunting communities in Forested Guinea showed IgG binding to multiple filoviruses, including EBOV (57/1159; 4.9%), BDBV (49/1159; 4.2%), TAFV (13/1159; 1.1%), Reston (4/1159; 0.3%), MLAV (8/1159; 0.7%), LLOV (8/1159; 0.7%), and BOMV (1/1159; 0.1%).

Virus
Ebola virus Bundibugyo (BDBV) Taï Forest (TAFV) Reston Měnglà (MLAV) Lloviu (LLOV) Bombali (BOMV)
Host
Hunters and close contacts Natural host wildlife hunter communities Natural host
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

screened using a multiplex microsphere-based immunoassay panel of 9 filoviruses, identifying IgG binding against Ebola virus (EBOV) in 57/1159 individuals (4.9%), as well as species-specific binding against Bundibugyo (BDBV) (49/1159, 4.2%), Taï Forest (TAFV) (13/1159, 1.1%), Reston (4/1159, 0.3%), Měnglà (MLAV) (8/1159, 0.7%), Lloviu (LLOV) (8/1159, 0.7%) and Bombali (BOMV) (1/1159, 0.1%) viruses.

Method
multiplex microsphere-based immunoassay
Sample type
serum
OVE12330 Serological Evidence
Key finding

Pseudotyped virus neutralization of human sera showed species-specific neutralization of EBOV, BDBV, and TAFV, with likely cross-neutralization of BOMV, LLOV, and MLAV.

Virus
Ebola virus Bundibugyo virus Taï Forest virus Bombali virus Lloviu virus Měnglà virus
Host
Hunters and close contacts Natural host wildlife hunter communities Natural host
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

Parallel pseudotyped virus neutralization assays identified species-specific neutralization of EBOV, BDBV and TAFV, as well as likely cross-neutralization of BOMV, LLOV and MLAV

Method
pseudotyped virus neutralization assay
Sample type
serum
Evidence type Reservoir Ecology
1 records
OVE12331 Reservoir Ecology
Key finding

Mixed-effects analyses linked forest fragmentation and other land-cover variables with pathways of exposure to zoonotic filoviruses among wildlife hunting communities in Forested Guinea.

Virus
Filoviridae
Host
wildlife hunter communities Natural host
Location
Guinea
Supporting text

Here we integrate serologic, spatial and questionnaire data to characterize zoonotic filovirus spillover events and risk factors amongst wildlife hunter communities in Forested Guinea. Mixed-effects regression analyses of satellite-derived land-cover data identified environmental risk factors (including forest fragmentation) reflecting potential pathways of exposure.

Method
mixed-effects regression analyses | satellite-derived land-cover data integration
Geographic raw
Forested Guinea
Country inferred
GIN
Transmission Evidence
1 records · 1 evidence types
Evidence type Outbreak Investigation
1 records
OVE12332 Outbreak Investigation
Key finding

A field investigation of wildlife hunting communities in Forested Guinea in 2017 and 2023 found filovirus-reactive antibodies, including EBOV-, BDBV-, and TAFV-specific neutralization, indicating multiple zoonotic filovirus spillover events.

Virus
Ebola virus Bundibugyo (BDBV) Taï Forest (TAFV) Reston Měnglà (MLAV) Lloviu (LLOV) Bombali (BOMV)
Host
Hunters and close contacts Natural host wildlife hunter communities Natural host
Location
Guinea
Supporting text

Here we integrate serologic, spatial and questionnaire data to characterize zoonotic filovirus spillover events and risk factors amongst wildlife hunter communities in Forested Guinea. Hunters and close contacts from 43 villages in 2017 (n = 511) and 2023 (n = 648) were screened using a multiplex microsphere-based immunoassay panel of 9 filoviruses, identifying IgG binding against Ebola virus (EBOV) in 57/1159 individuals (4.9%), as well as species-specific binding against Bundibugyo (BDBV) (49/1159, 4.2%), Taï Forest (TAFV) (13/1159, 1.1%), Reston (4/1159, 0.3%), Měnglà (MLAV) (8/1159, 0.7%), Lloviu (LLOV) (8/1159, 0.7%) and Bombali (BOMV) (1/1159, 0.1%) viruses. Parallel pseudotyped virus neutralization assays identified species-specific neutralization of EBOV, BDBV and TAFV, as well as likely cross-neutralization of BOMV, LLOV and MLAV, suggesting multiple zoonotic virus spillover events.

Method
serologic screening | multiplex microsphere-based immunoassay | pseudotyped virus neutralization assays | questionnaire data | spatial analysis | mixed-effects regression of satellite-derived land-cover data
Transmission direction
animal-to-human
Geographic raw
Forested Guinea
Country inferred
GIN
Outbreak setting
wildlife hunter communities
Outbreak time
2017 and 2023
Outbreak scale
Hunters and close contacts from 43 villages; total screened n = 1,159