Abstract
Ebola viruses (EBOV; genus
Ebolavirus, family
Filoviridae)
cause often fatal, hemorrhagic fever in several species of simian
primates including human. While fruit bats are considered a natural
reservoir, the involvement of other species in the EBOV transmission
cycle is unclear, especially for domesticated animals.
Dogs and pigs are
so far the only domestic animals identified as species that can be
infected with EBOV. In 2009 Reston-EBOV was the first EBOV reported to
infect swine with indicated transmission to humans; and a survey in
Gabon found over 30% seroprevalence for EBOV in dogs during the Ebola
outbreak in 2001-2002. While infections in dogs appear to be
asymptomatic,
pigs experimentally infected with EBOV can develop
clinical disease, depending on the virus species and possibly the age of
the infected animals. In the experimental settings, pigs can transmit
Zaire-Ebola virus to naive
pigs and macaques; however, their role during
Ebola outbreaks in Africa needs to be clarified. Attempts at virus and
antibody detection require as a prerequisite validation of viral RNA and
antibody detection methods especially for pigs, as well as the
development of a sampling strategy. Significant issues about disease
development remain to be resolved for EBOV. Evaluation of current human
vaccine candidates or development of veterinary vaccines de novo for
EBOV might need to be considered, especially if
pigs or dogs are
implicated in the transmission of an African species of EBOV to humans
