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Plowright RK, Ahmed AN, Coulson T, Crowther TW, Ejotre I, Faust CL, Frick WF, Hudson PJ, Kingston T, Nameer PO, O'Mara MT, Peel AJ, Possingham H, Razgour O, Reeder DM, Ruiz-Aravena M, Simmons NB, Srinivas PN, Tabor GM, Tanshi I, Thompson IG, Vanak AT, Vora NM, Willison CE, Keeley ATH. Ecological countermeasures to prevent pathogen spillover and subsequent pandemics. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2577. [PMID: 38531842 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46151-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Substantial global attention is focused on how to reduce the risk of future pandemics. Reducing this risk requires investment in prevention, preparedness, and response. Although preparedness and response have received significant focus, prevention, especially the prevention of zoonotic spillover, remains largely absent from global conversations. This oversight is due in part to the lack of a clear definition of prevention and lack of guidance on how to achieve it. To address this gap, we elucidate the mechanisms linking environmental change and zoonotic spillover using spillover of viruses from bats as a case study. We identify ecological interventions that can disrupt these spillover mechanisms and propose policy frameworks for their implementation. Recognizing that pandemics originate in ecological systems, we advocate for integrating ecological approaches alongside biomedical approaches in a comprehensive and balanced pandemic prevention strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raina K Plowright
- Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
| | - Aliyu N Ahmed
- Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Tim Coulson
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Thomas W Crowther
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Imran Ejotre
- Department of Biology, Muni University, P.O. Box 725, Arua, Uganda
| | - Christina L Faust
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Winifred F Frick
- Bat Conservation International, Austin, TX, 78746, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
| | - Peter J Hudson
- Centre for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16801, USA
| | - Tigga Kingston
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409-3131, USA
| | - P O Nameer
- College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, 680 656, India
| | | | - Alison J Peel
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Hugh Possingham
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Orly Razgour
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| | - DeeAnn M Reeder
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17937, USA
| | - Manuel Ruiz-Aravena
- Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, USA
| | - Nancy B Simmons
- Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY, 10024, USA
| | | | - Gary M Tabor
- Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Bozeman, MT, 59771, USA
| | - Iroro Tanshi
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Small Mammal Conservation Organization, Benin City, 300251, Nigeria
- Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, University of Benin, Benin City, 300000, Nigeria
| | | | - Abi T Vanak
- Centre for Policy Design, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560064, India
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4041, South Africa
| | - Neil M Vora
- Conservation International, Arlington, VA, 22202, USA
| | - Charley E Willison
- Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
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Weber N, Nagy M, Markotter W, Schaer J, Puechmaille SJ, Sutton J, Dávalos LM, Dusabe MC, Ejotre I, Fenton MB, Knörnschild M, López-Baucells A, Medellin RA, Metz M, Mubareka S, Nsengimana O, O'Mara MT, Racey PA, Tuttle M, Twizeyimana I, Vicente-Santos A, Tschapka M, Voigt CC, Wikelski M, Dechmann DK, Reeder DM. Robust evidence for bats as reservoir hosts is lacking in most African virus studies: a review and call to optimize sampling and conserve bats. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230358. [PMID: 37964576 PMCID: PMC10646460 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Africa experiences frequent emerging disease outbreaks among humans, with bats often proposed as zoonotic pathogen hosts. We comprehensively reviewed virus-bat findings from papers published between 1978 and 2020 to evaluate the evidence that African bats are reservoir and/or bridging hosts for viruses that cause human disease. We present data from 162 papers (of 1322) with original findings on (1) numbers and species of bats sampled across bat families and the continent, (2) how bats were selected for study inclusion, (3) if bats were terminally sampled, (4) what types of ecological data, if any, were recorded and (5) which viruses were detected and with what methodology. We propose a scheme for evaluating presumed virus-host relationships by evidence type and quality, using the contrasting available evidence for Orthoebolavirus versus Orthomarburgvirus as an example. We review the wording in abstracts and discussions of all 162 papers, identifying key framing terms, how these refer to findings, and how they might contribute to people's beliefs about bats. We discuss the impact of scientific research communication on public perception and emphasize the need for strategies that minimize human-bat conflict and support bat conservation. Finally, we make recommendations for best practices that will improve virological study metadata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Weber
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Ulm, Germany
| | - Martina Nagy
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wanda Markotter
- Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Juliane Schaer
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sébastien J. Puechmaille
- ISEM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
- Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | | | - Liliana M. Dávalos
- Department of Ecology and Evolution and Consortium for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, USA
| | | | - Imran Ejotre
- Institute of Biology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
- Muni University, Arua, Uganda
| | - M. Brock Fenton
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mirjam Knörnschild
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
- Evolutionary Ethology, Institute for Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | | | - Rodrigo A. Medellin
- Institute of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Samira Mubareka
- Sunnybrook Research Institute and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - M. Teague O'Mara
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
- Bat Conservation International Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA, USA
| | - Paul A. Racey
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Merlin Tuttle
- Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation, Austin, TX USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, USA
| | | | - Amanda Vicente-Santos
- Graduate Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Marco Tschapka
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Ulm, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | | | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Dina K.N. Dechmann
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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Ejotre I, Reeder DM, Matuschewski K, Schaer J. Hepatocystis. Trends Parasitol 2020; 37:456-457. [PMID: 32839102 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Imran Ejotre
- Department of Molecular Parasitology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany; Muni University, Arua, Uganda
| | - DeeAnn M Reeder
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
| | - Kai Matuschewski
- Department of Molecular Parasitology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Juliane Schaer
- Department of Molecular Parasitology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany; Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia.
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Schaer J, Perkins SL, Ejotre I, Vodzak ME, Matuschewski K, Reeder DM. Epauletted fruit bats display exceptionally high infections with a Hepatocystis species complex in South Sudan. Sci Rep 2017; 7:6928. [PMID: 28761151 PMCID: PMC5537238 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07093-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 06/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocystis parasites are closely related to mammalian Plasmodium species, the causative agents of malaria. Despite the close phylogenetic relationship, Hepatocystis parasites lack the intermittent erythrocytic replication cycles, the signature and exclusive cause of malaria-related morbidity and mortality. Hepatocystis population expansion in the mammalian host is thought to be restricted to the pre-erythrocytic liver phase. Complete differentiation of first generation blood stages into sexual stages for subsequent vector transmission indicates alternative parasite/host co-evolution. In this study, we identified a region of exceptionally high prevalence of Hepatocystis infections in Old World fruit bats in South Sudan. Investigations over the course of five consecutive surveys revealed an average of 93 percent prevalence in four genera of African epauletted fruit bats. We observed a clear seasonal pattern and tolerance of high parasite loads in these bats. Phylogenetic analyses revealed several cryptic Hepatocystis parasite species and, in contrast to mammalian Plasmodium parasites, neither host specificity nor strong geographical patterns were evident. Together, our study provides evidence for Pan-African distribution and local high endemicity of a Hepatocystis species complex in Pteropodidae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Schaer
- Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Parasitology Unit, Berlin, 10117, Germany. .,Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity, Mammals Collections, Berlin, 10115, Germany.
| | - Susan L Perkins
- American Museum of Natural History, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, New York, 10024, USA
| | - Imran Ejotre
- Humboldt University, Institute of Biology, Berlin, 10117, Germany
| | - Megan E Vodzak
- Bucknell University, Department of Biology, Lewisburg, 17837, USA.,Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
| | - Kai Matuschewski
- Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Parasitology Unit, Berlin, 10117, Germany.,Humboldt University, Institute of Biology, Berlin, 10117, Germany
| | - DeeAnn M Reeder
- Bucknell University, Department of Biology, Lewisburg, 17837, USA
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Reeder DM, Helgen KM, Vodzak ME, Lunde DP, Ejotre I. A new genus for a rare African vespertilionid bat: insights from South Sudan. Zookeys 2013:89-115. [PMID: 23805046 PMCID: PMC3690973 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.285.4892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2013] [Accepted: 04/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A new genus is proposed for the strikingly patterned African vespertilionid “Glauconycteris” superba Hayman, 1939 on the basis of cranial and external morphological comparisons. A review of the attributes of a newly collected specimen from South Sudan (a new country record) and other museum specimens of “Glauconycteris” superba suggests that “Glauconycteris” superba is markedly distinct ecomorphologically from other species classified in Glauconycteris and is likely the sister taxon to Glauconycteris sensu stricto. The recent capture of this rarely collected but widespread bat highlights the need for continued research in tropical sub-Saharan Africa and in particular, for more work in western South Sudan, which has received very little scientific attention. New country records for Glauconycteris cf. poensis (South Sudan) and Glauconycteris curryae (Gabon) are also reported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deeann M Reeder
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, 17837, USA
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