@article{fdi:010048458,
  title = {{H}uman {E}bola outbreak resulting from direct exposure to fruit bats in {L}uebo, {D}emocratic {R}epublic of {C}ongo, 2007},
  author = {{L}eroy, {E}ric and {E}pelboin, {A}. and {M}ondonge, {V}. and {P}ourrut, {X}avier and {G}onzalez, {J}ean-{P}aul and {M}uyembe-{T}amfum, {J}. {J}. and {F}ormenty, {P}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}welve years after the {K}ikwit {E}bola outbreak in 1995, {E}bola virus reemerged in the {O}ccidental {K}asai province of the {D}emocratic {R}epublic of {C}ongo ({DRC}) between {M}ay and {N}ovember 2007, affecting more than 260 humans and causing 186 deaths. {D}uring this latter outbreak we conducted several epidemiological investigations to identify the underlying ecological conditions and animal sources. {Q}ualitative social and environmental data were collected through interviews with villagers and by direct observation. {T}he local populations reported no unusual morbidity or mortality among wild or domestic animals, but they described a massive annual fruit bat migration toward the southeast, up the {L}ulua {R}iver. {M}igrating bats settled in the outbreak area for several weeks, between {A}pril and {M}ay, nestling in the numerous fruit trees in {N}dongo and {K}oumelele islands as well as in palm trees of a largely abandoned plantation. {T}hey were massively hunted by villagers, for whom they represented a major source of protein. {B}y tracing back the initial human-human transmission events, we were able to show that, in {M}ay, the putative first human victim bought freshly killed bats from hunters to eat. {W}e were able to reconstruct the likely initial human-human transmission events that preceded the outbreak. {T}his study provides the most likely sequence of events linking a human {E}bola outbreak to exposure to fruit bats, a putative virus reservoir. {T}hese findings support the suspected role of bats in the natural cycle of {E}bola virus and indicate that the massive seasonal fruit bat migrations should be taken into account in operational {E}bola risk maps and seasonal alerts in the {DRC}.},
  keywords = {{B}at ; {E}bola ; {E}merging disease ; {O}utbreak ; {P}athogenicity ; {V}irus ; {Z}oonotic disease},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{V}ector-{B}orne and {Z}oonotic {D}iseases},
  volume = {9},
  numero = {6},
  pages = {723--728},
  ISSN = {1530-3667},
  year = {2009},
  DOI = {10.1089/vbz.2008.0167},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010048458},
}