Bombali ebolavirus: a model for the evolution and ecology of ebolaviruses and a potential public health concern (BEMEP)

自2014年以来，埃博拉病毒在撒哈拉以南非洲地区多次出现，这些地区目睹了它们的准不间断活动和有史以来最严重的两次疫情。尽管付出了相当大的努力，这些人畜共患病原体的自然宿主仍然难以捉摸，这妨碍了对导致埃博拉病毒出现的过程的正确理解。最近，一种新的埃博拉病毒，Bombali病毒（BOMV）被鉴定出来，并明确地与无尾蝙蝠有关。BOMV可以作为一个强大的模型来研究埃博拉病毒的生态和进化，目前仍然是绝对神秘的。该病毒对人类健康造成的确切风险也有待适当评估，在此，我们建议同时解决这两个问题，利用德国合作伙伴（柏林RKI的Leendertz和Calvignac-Spencer博士）和坦桑尼亚合作伙伴（坦桑尼亚姆贝亚医学研究中心Mangu博士）之间最近合作框架内开发的能力。这些能力已经使我们能够检测BOMV在当地的自由tailedbats.Using蝙蝠诱捕，采样和标记和分子方法相结合，我们将描述BOMV与其自然宿主在进化，生态和生物学方面的关联，揭示BOMV多样化和流通的长期和短期驱动因素。我们还将通过调查当地人口的接触情况和与发热性疾病的潜在联系，评估BOMV对公共卫生的影响，该项目将大大扩展坦桑尼亚合作伙伴的理论和技术组合。它将包括一个非常强大的能力建设部分，旨在建立现场高通量测序和生物信息学能力。知识和技术将通过雄心勃勃但现实的实践培训计划转移给坦桑尼亚合作伙伴和当地的早期职业研究人员（ECR）。通过在德国和法国的两个借调期，还将加强当地ECR的软技能，该项目将解决与埃博拉病毒生态、进化和出现有关的公共卫生问题。它还将支持地方发展“一个健康”办法和病原体基因组监测。最后，它将大大加强坦桑尼亚合作伙伴的实验室，并启动当地ECR的研究生涯。

Since 2014, ebolaviruses have repeatedly emerged in sub-Saharan Africa, which witnessed their quasi undisrupted activity and the two most severe outbreaks ever. Despite considerable efforts, the natural host(s) of these zoonotic agents remain elusive, which prevents a proper understanding of the processes leading to the emergence of ebolaviruses.Recently, a new ebolavirus, the Bombali virus (BOMV), was identified and unambiguously linked to free-tailed bats. BOMV could be used as a powerful model to investigate the ecology and evolution of ebolaviruses, which at the moment remains absolutely mysterious. The exact risk that this virus poses to human health also awaits to be properly assessed.Here, we propose to simultaneously tackle both questions, taking advantage of the capacities recently developed in the framework of a collaboration between the German partners (Drs. Leendertz and Calvignac-Spencer, RKI, Berlin) and the Tanzanian partner of this proposal (Dr. Mangu, Mbeya Medical Research Centre, Mbeya, Tanzania). These capacities have already allowed us to detect BOMV in local free-tailed bats.Using a combination of bat trapping, sampling and marking and molecular methods, we will characterize the association of BOMV with their natural hosts in their evolutionary, ecological and biological dimensions, unveiling the long and short-term drivers of BOMV diversification and circulation. We will also assess the public health impact of BOMV by investigating the exposure of local populations and potential association with febrile illness.The project will allow for a very significant extension of the theoretical and technical portfolio of the Tanzanian partner. It will notably include a very strong capacity building component aimed at setting up onsite high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic capabilities.Knowledge and know-how will be transferred to the Tanzanian partner and a local early career researcher (ECR) by means of an ambitious but realistic hands-on training program. The local ECR soft skills will also be enhanced, inter alia, through two secondments periods in Germany and France.This project will address public health-relevant questions pertaining to ebolavirus ecology, evolution and emergence. It will also support the local development of One Health approaches and pathogen genomic surveillance. Finally, it will measurably reinforce the laboratory of the Tanzanian partner and launch the research career of a local ECR.