Infectious Disease · Public Health ·
M. ulcerans DNA Detected in Two Fruit Bats in Cameroon
A field study in Akonolinga, Cameroon, detected Mycobacterium ulcerans DNA in 2 of 46 fruit bats sampled in 2024. All 111 pools of aquatic macroinvertebrates tested negative; the findings do not establish that bats are reservoirs or that the detected bacteria were viable.
- M. ulcerans DNA was detected in 2 of 46 bats.
- All 111 aquatic macroinvertebrate pools tested negative.
- The findings do not establish bats as reservoir hosts.
Researchers sampled fruit bats and aquatic macroinvertebrates along the Nyong River in Akonolinga, Cameroon, in June 2024. They tested oral and rectal swabs from 46 bats representing five taxa, and 111 taxonomically grouped pools comprising 413 aquatic macroinvertebrates. Quantitative PCR was considered positive when both M. ulcerans targets were detected with cycle-quantification values below 36.
Two bat samples (4.2%) were positive: a rectal swab from a Micropteropus bat and an oral swab from an Eidolon helvum bat. Neither animal had visible skin lesions. All 111 macroinvertebrate pools tested negative, despite earlier surveys at the sites detecting the bacterium in approximately 5%–10% of aquatic invertebrate samples.
The results document M. ulcerans DNA in samples from clinically healthy fruit bats but do not demonstrate bacterial viability, persistent carriage, or transmission. Exposure through food or water remains possible. The authors say broader longitudinal surveillance, including fecal sampling and investigation of dietary and environmental sources, is needed to clarify whether bats contribute to bacterial circulation. The article is an early release and may be revised before final publication.
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Emerging Infectious Diseases: Detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans DNA in African Fruit Bats, Cameroon, 2024 ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.