Cross-neutralising antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in sera from straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) in Nigeria
This study demonstrated that pre-pandemic sera collected from Eidolon helvum bats had neutralising activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Furthermore we detected the presence of lineage D betacoronavirus in this bat population that shared epitopes with SARS-CoV-2. This work contributes to our understanding of the complexities of coronavirus cross-reactivity. Characterizing bat coronaviruses is crucial to understand their zoonotic potential for spillover events due to bushmeat hunting practices.
Authors
- Amanda H. Seekings (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9045-3553)
- Veronica O. Ameh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8737-6494)
- Hooman Goharriz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7931-1869)
- Guanghui Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9374-3190)
- Lorraine M. McElhinney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6022-348X)
- Claude Sabeta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7842-7985)
- Joan Amaya-Cuesta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6077-7706)
Institutions
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (GB)
- Benue State University (NG)
- Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (ZA)
- Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute (ZA)
- Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi (NG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Veterinary Research
- Published
- 2025-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04938-y
- Primary Topic
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government
- University of Pretoria