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

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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.

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