SIERRA LEONE One Health in action (2016-2020) Tracing the origins of Ebola SIERRA LEONE EBOLA HOST PROJECT estled in the heart of neighboring Guinea and Liberia, to (Bombali ebolavirus) in insect-eating coastal West Africa, find the animal source of this and bats; the first time an ebolavirus was NSierra Leone is a shining other devastating filoviruses, and discovered before causing human example of resilience and strength to investigate human behaviors or animal illness or death. A few in the face of unprecedented health associated with virus spillover. A months later, our team together challenges. With nearly 5.7 million robust community engagement with colleagues at the U.S. Centers people living in a gradient of dense strategy was also undertaken, for Disease Control and Prevention urban to very rural deep forest engaging over 400 stakeholders from (CDC) and Njala University, environments, Sierra Leone has long the national, district, chiefdom, and detected a deadly known virus been recognized as a zoonotic virus local community levels. Additionally, (Marburg virus) in fruit-eating bats, emergence hot spot. During 2013- our team worked closely with the first time this virus had been 2016, what was initially thought to government officials in six districts detected in West Africa. be a limited Ebola virus outbreak to launch district-level One Health PREDICT’s full impact in Sierra began along the Sierra Leone- Platforms. Leone will take years to fully Guinea-Liberia border. However, Through the University of Makeni appreciate. Through analysis of over the next three years the and partners in the Ministries project data and findings, PREDICT disease spread through nearly the of Health and Sanitation and was able to identify risks and entire three countries–leaving over Agriculture and Forestry, PREDICT educate communities and 28,000 people infected and more strengthened national capabilities health professionals on behavior than 11,000 dead. for virus surveillance in wildlife, change and intervention strategies This was the largest Ebola outbreak safely and humanely collecting designed to protect people and in history and further catalyzed samples from over 9,500 animals, wildlife from disease threats. Our efforts to identify the animal (bats, rodents, livestock, dogs, cats, staff continue to promote One source, or reservoir, of Ebola to and non-human primates) across Health as a key approach to obtaining prevent future outbreaks. To meet >50 independent locations. health security through their roles as this challenge, PREDICT designed leaders in health, agriculture, and the In 2018, as proof of concept for and implemented the Ebola Host environment. PREDICT’s approach, we detected Project in Sierra Leone, along with an entirely new species of ebolavirus LOCAL PARTNERS • University of Makeni • Ministry of Health and Sanitation • Minsitry of Agriculture and Forestry LABORATORY STRENGTHENING · University of Makeni · UC Davis One Health Institute 29,160 TESTS Global Health Security Agenda MOHAMED “It has been a pleasure working with PREDICT. I have learned a lot. I am not actually a scientist – I am an IT person, but I have TURAY build my system to love the science. I love my work that I am doing, Field Ecologist it is nice and I am learning a lot. It gives me what it takes to reach to communities, offer what I have to offer. I love what I am doing.” University of Makeni “I have had an amazing work experience with PREDICT. The project FATMATA was not all about us collecting animal samples but PREDICT gave back BAIROH to me by building my capacity in lab and biosafety training. I can now identify the different species of bats through their external feature and Field Ecologist their inhabitants. Ultimately with PREDICT, I became a better person University of Makeni when it came to team work.” ACHIEVEMENTS • Discovered an entirely new species of ebolavirus of six district-level One Health Platforms, a (Bombali ebolavirus) in bats before any known human collaboration between Ministry of Health and or animal illnesses or deaths (Goldstein et al., Nature Sanitation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and Microbiology October 2018) the Environmental Protection Agency to sustain multi-sectoral coordination and bolster national • Discovered a known and deadly human pathogen health security (Marburg virus) in bats for the first time in West Africa, more than 2,400km from any • Catalyzed efforts within the Ministry of Health and known endemic area (Amman et al., Nature Sanitation’s Health Education Division leading to Communications January 2020) the development of formalized risk messaging and communication campaigns for living safely with • Supported outbreak response efforts for a pig animals and preventing zoonotic disease transmission die-off and coordinated efforts between the Government of Sierra Leone’s Central Veterinary • Served as a functional platform and role model of Laboratory, USAID, and US Department of technical assistance that led to the the establishment Agriculture to facilitate diagnostic testing for samples of an emerging Zoonotic Disease Surveillance Task collected from dead animals. These efforts and Force within the Ministry of Health and Sanitation’s confirmatory USDA testing led to the diagnosis of Emergency Operations Center, a monumental step African Swine Fever, the first occurrence of this towards proactive solutions to emerging pathogens disease in Sierra Leone, which was swiftly reported at the national level. to OIE in February 2020. • Trained >160 district-level government officials in One Health skills and supported the development ONE HEALTH SURVEILLANCE FINDING THE ELUSIVE WILDLIFE HOSTS OF EBOLAVIRUSES AND OTHER VIRAL THREATS In collaboration with in-country partners, an extensive surveillance program was implemented in Sierra Leone to successfully identify the animal source and reservoir of Ebola virus and other closely related filoviruses (ebolaviruses and marburgviruses). Across >50 locations in six districts, biological specimens were safely and humanely collected from >9,500 animals (bats, rodents, nonhuman primates, livestock, and domesticated animals such as dogs, cats, goats and sheep) before being released. VIRUS TABLE # OF POSITIVE INDIVIDUALS VIRAL FAMILY VIRUS SPECIES SAMPLING LOCATION TOTAL WET DRY SEASON SEASON Filovirus Bombali virus (BOMV) Angolan Free-Tailed Bat, Gbindi, Kamabai, Robuya, 6 5 1 Little Free-Tailed Bat Rosanda, Yelisanda Marburg virus (MARV) Egyptian Fruit Bat Kakoya, Koema, Peidu 5 2 3 Coronavirus Bat coronavirus HKU9 Egyptian Fruit Bat Kakoya, Peidu 5 5 0 Coronavirus 229E Noack’s Roundleaf Bat Koema 1 1 0 (Bat strain) Paramyxovirus PREDICT_PMV-180 Angolan Fruit Bat Koema 1 1 0 PREDICT_PMV-183 Jones’s Roundleaf Bat Koema 1 1 0 Arenavirus Lassa mammarenavirus Natal Multimammate Blama Puila, Kamaseh 5 4 1 Mouse Total 24 19 5 VIRUS DETECTION Our team discovered an entirely new sector (laboratories, hospitals, and one in a Jones’s Roundleaf Bat species of ebolavirus in Angolan Free- emergency response teams) and (Hipposideros jonesi) and one in tailed Bats and Little Free-tailed Bats the general population to raise an Angolan Fruit Bat (Lissonycteris (Mops condylurus, n=1; Chaerephon awareness of this new health threat. angolensis). There is no evidence pumilus, n=5), insect-eating bats in the that PREDICT_PMV-183 poses a Samples from over 300 domestic Bombali district that were sampled in threat to human health. Genetically, animals (cats and dogs) were tested and around people’s homes and the PREDICT_PMV-180 is related to using consensus PCR (cPCR) to broader community. This discovery henipaviruses, several of which are screen for filoviruses, no viruses in 2018 marked the first time ever known to cause disease in animals were detected.Samples collected that an ebolavirus was found before and people (e.g., Nipah virus, Hendra from wildlife were also tested using causing any reported human or virus) and genome sequencing is cPCR to screen for filoviruses, with animal illnesses or deaths. ongoing to further characterize this a subset of samples screened for virus and the zoonotic risks it may This new virus (Bombali ebolavirus) is arenaviruses, coronaviruses, and pose, if any. now recognized as the sixth species of paramyxoviruses. Virus findings ebolavirus. Further characterization were confirmed through genome FINDINGS IN of the virus is ongoing to understand sequencing and interpreted to better the zoonotic potential . Despite this understand the relationship of the RODENTS finding and more than 40 years of detected sequence to those from Lassa mammarenavirus was found research, data on the true reservoir known animal and human pathogens. in five Natal Multimammate Mice host for the virus that caused the A total of seven viruses, 4 historically (Mastomys natalensis). This strain is West African 2013-2016 outbreak known and 3 PREDICT -discovered known to cause Lassa hemorrhagic (Zaire ebolavirus) remains elusive, viruses, were detected in 24 animals. fever in humans. Testing for this though our team did detect Zaire virus was performed as part of the ebolavirus in bats sampled in Liberia. FINDINGS IN BATS separately funded PREEMPT project, The discovery of Bombali virus The bat coronavirus HKU9 was which is strengthening capacity and detection of Zaire ebolavirus found in five Egyptian Fruit Bats for surveillance and detection of contributes to the growing body (Rousettus aegyptiacus). There is to Lassa virus in Sierra Leone and of evidence that bats are the likely date, also no evidence to suggest that working with an international team hosts of this deadly group of viruses. this virus poses a threat to human to develop Lassa virus risk models, A few months after this discovery, health. prevention strategies and potential countermeasures to combat this PREDICT and partners with Njala This virus is not related to the public health threat. University and the US Centers for novel coronavirus strain (HCoV- Disease Control and Prevention 19SARS-CoV2) causing Coronavirus (US CDC) detected the known Disease (COVID-19) and leading and highly-lethal Marburg virus in to thea public health emergency of five Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus international concern.