Scientists have found evidence of the deadly Ebola virus in a bat in Liberia, the first time the virus has been found in a bat in West Africa.
After sampling hundreds of bats over the past two years, scientists of Liberia's health ministry and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) detected the Zaire Ebola virus in one bat, NPHIL director general Tolbert Nyenswah told journalists in the capital Monrovia.
"To date, all other bats have tested negative," Nyenswah said.
The finding was nonetheless significant, as researchers believe it suggests that bats may be a natural host for Ebola, the director general said.
Researchers believe it was likely that bats in other parts of Africa were also carrying the Ebola virus, according to Nyenswah.
"Ongoing studies will examine whether more ... bats are infected, how bats spread the virus," he added.
Ebola, a highly infectious disease that causes a fever, often leads to massive internal bleeding and fatalities.
During the last major Ebola outbreak in 2014, 11,000 people died when the virus spread across the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
