Ebola Virus Antibody Prevalence in Dogs and Human Risk

[Vibrant62]

Full paper download here

Ebola Virus Antibody Prevalence in Dogs and Human Risk
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/11/3/pdfs/04-0981.pdf


Summary

During the 2001?2002 outbreak in Gabon, we
observed that several dogs were highly exposed to Ebola
virus by eating infected dead animals. To examine whether
these animals became infected with Ebola virus, we sam-
pled 439 dogs and screened them by Ebola virus?specific
immunoglobulin (Ig) G assay, antigen detection, and viral
polymerase chain reaction amplification. Seven (8.9%) of
79 samples from the 2 main towns, 15 (15.2%) of 99
samples from Mekambo, and 40 (25.2%) of 159 samples
from villages in the Ebola virus?epidemic area had
detectable Ebola virus?IgG, compared to only 2 (2%) of 102
samples from France. Among dogs from villages with both
infected animal carcasses and human cases, seropreva-
lence was 31.8%. A significant positive direct association
existed between seroprevalence and the distances to the
Ebola virus?epidemic area. This study suggests that dogs
can be infected by Ebola virus and that the putative infec-
tion is asymptomatic.

 

[Emily]

Re: Ebola Virus Antibody Prevalence in Dogs and Human Risk

Here is another full-text source for this article. It is important to note that having a pet dog or being bitten by a dog has NEVER been linked to ebola infection. The article presents NO evidence of viral shedding that could even spread ebola. I think epidemiologists would have noticed a link between contact with dogs and ebola infections by now if one existed.

The only conclusion drawn here is that dogs might be a sentinel species that could be monitored to help protect humans by altering them to the presence of the ebola virus in the environment.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3298261/

The virus appears to jump from its natural host to humans only in specific, but unknown, conditions. Seroprevalence rates in dogs might serves as an indicator of Ebola virus in regions in which no animal deaths or human cases have been observed.

In conclusion, this study offers the first evidence that dogs might be asymptomatically infected by Ebola virus in the wild. This finding has potential implications for preventing and controlling human outbreaks. The increasing canine seroprevalence gradient from low-risk to at-risk Ebola virus–endemic areas indicates that this seroprevalence might be used as an epidemiologic indicator of virus circulation in regions where no other means of virus detection are available.

Also, I'd like to know if owning dogs might even reduce risk of ebola.