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Cambridge Infectious Diseases People

At work with a bat

Research description

Ongoing studies in continental Africa have identified the straw-coloured fruit bat, Eidolon helvum, as a reservoir for potentially zoonotic viruses (henipa- and lyssa-viruses) and a common source of bush meat. While Lagos Bat Virus (LBV, a genotype-2 lyssavirus) had previously been reported in this species across Africa, until recently, henipaviruses had only been found in Australia, Asia and Madagascar.

E. helvum is migratory, with a widespread distribution across sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to small non-migratory populations on five offshore islands. At certain times of the year it lives in massive colonies (up to several million individuals), however when these colonies disperse, the actual migration patterns remain unknown. Although one study indicates migrations of more than 1000km, the degree of contact in terms of gene flow and disease transmission between the many different colonies across Africa is completely unknown. The large seasonal colonies are often in close contact with huge human populations (e.g. in Abidjan, Accra, Dar es Salaam), and thus based on the recent findings of lyssavirus and henipavirus in this species, they may represent a public health concern.

Additionally, as a result of sampling conducted by myself and my colleagues David Hayman and Kate Baker, antibodies to henipaviruses and LBV have now been detected in E. helvum in Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda. The panmictic population structure of this species appears to have resulted in widespread seroprevalence to henipavirus and LBV across Africa

My research in now focusing on the Gulf of Guinea islands, situated off the west coast of central Africa. Preliminary analyses indicate that non-migratory island populations in the three isolated island show evidence of genetic differentiation from the continental population, whereas one island within daily foraging distance from the mainland is genetically indistinguishable. I have recently conducted more extensive sampling of E. helvum bats on each the islands of Sáo Tomé and Príncipe, and Bioko and Annobón (Equatoral Guinea) to investigate further the genetic population structure, colonisation events, and to assess the henipa- and lyssa-virus infection status of these small, isolated populations. These islands provide a unique opportunity to investigate the infection dynamics and the ability for these viruses to persist in small, isolated populations, compared with the large continental metapopulation. Genetic analyses of these populations will be crucial in determining effective population sizes, migration rates between the islands, and estimation of initial colonisation rates from the mainland.

Background

I completed my veterinary degree at the University of Sydney in 2003, with an honours year research project on stress in captive western lowland gorillas, inferred from faecal cortisol and behavioural measurements. After a year working in mixed-animal practice in rural South Australia, I moved to Kent, UK to work in small-animal practice. In 2006-2007 I completed a MSc in Wild Animal Health at the Institute of Zoology, London and the Royal Veterinary College.

Supervisors

• Dr Andrew Cunningham. Reader and Head of Wildlife Epidemiology
• Prof. James Wood, Director, Cambridge Infectious Disease Consortium
• Dr. David Sargan, Director of Graduate Education, Graduate School of Life Sciences, University of Cambridge

Key publications since 2005

• Peel, Alison J, Rossiter, Stephen J, Wood, James L N, Cunningham, Andrew A, Sargan, David R. (2010). Characterization of microsatellite loci in the straw-colored fruit bat, Eidolon helvum (Pteropodidae). Conservation Genetic Resources. Online First. DOI 10.1007/s12686-010-9190-9
• Peel, A.J., Bouts, T., Flach, E., Rivers, S, and Routh, A. (2009) Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (Equine Cushing's Disease) in an Onager (Equus hemionus onager). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 40 (4) 773-780.
• Peel, A.J., L. Vogelnest, et al. (2005). "Non-Invasive Fecal Hormone Analysis and Behavioral Observations for Monitoring Stress Responses in Captive Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)." Zoo Biology 24(5): 431-445.