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一再出现，那里几乎没有中断过埃博拉病毒的活动，也经历了有史以来最严重的两次疫情。尽管做了大量的工作，但这些人畜共患病病原体的自然宿主(S)仍然不清楚，这阻碍了人们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，庞巴利病毒被发现，并明确地与自由尾蝙蝠有关。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，目前埃博拉病毒仍然是绝对神秘的。这种病毒对人类健康构成的确切风险还有待适当的评估。在此，我们建议同时解决这两个问题，利用德国合作伙伴(Leendertz博士和Calvignac-Spencer博士，RKI，柏林)与该提案的坦桑尼亚合作伙伴(Mbeya医学研究中心，坦桑尼亚，姆贝亚，Mangu博士)最近在合作框架内发展的能力。这些能力已经使我们能够在当地的无尾蝙蝠中检测到BOMV。我们将结合蝙蝠捕捉、采样和标记以及分子方法，从进化、生态和生物维度表征BOMV与其自然宿主的关联，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暴露情况和与发热性疾病的潜在联系来评估BOMV对公共卫生的影响。该项目将使坦桑尼亚合作伙伴的理论和技术组合得到极大的扩展。它将特别包括旨在建立现场高通量测序和生物信息学能力的非常强大的能力建设部分。知识和诀窍将通过一个雄心勃勃但现实的动手培训计划转移给坦桑尼亚合作伙伴和当地的一名早期职业研究人员(ECR)。除其他外，还将通过在德国和法国的两个借调期加强当地的ECR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。它还将支持当地制定One Health Approach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的研究事业。

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.