tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2436878270535434755.post4216941371651270842..comments2023-08-25T08:39:14.082-06:00Comments on Wildlife Vet, Author, Storyteller: Bushmeat in Madagascar and AsiaJerry Haighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14276901551047524363noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2436878270535434755.post-37173158440231019782009-09-03T09:42:34.430-06:002009-09-03T09:42:34.430-06:00Hey Jonathan,
Thanks for your insightful & use...Hey Jonathan,<br />Thanks for your insightful & useful comment. I saw the report of the vet in Australia who had contracted Nipah virus from a horse. I had not noted that he had died, but given the past history it is, sadly, not a surprise. The epidemiology of your fruit bat virus is fascinating. Several years ago one of the students who came with me to Uganda gave a seminar and mentioned the Nipah virus outbreak in pigs. We were studying wildlife diseases and the human x wildlife x livestock interface, so the subject was a natural as it was quite new at the time.Jerry Haighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14276901551047524363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2436878270535434755.post-20062525675012222872009-09-03T09:30:06.721-06:002009-09-03T09:30:06.721-06:00Jerry,
Thank you for featuring news of our Journal...Jerry,<br />Thank you for featuring news of our Journal of Applied Ecology paper. To your point on the personal protective equipment shown in the picture, it serves two purposes: to protect us in the field from exposure to a zoonotic viruses such as Nipah virus and rabies, as well as from injury from being bitten (fruit bats look cute but have very sharp teeth!) <br /><br />Bats of the genus <i>Pteropus</i>, also called "flying foxes," are known to carry henipaviruses (Nipah or Hendra) which are zoonotic and lethal in people and many other mammals. At Wildlife Trust we've been studying the ecology of these viruses, and the bats that carry them, in order to better understand how and when transmission from bats to people occurs. Hendra virus, discovered in 1994 in Queensland, Australia, is carried by Australian flying foxes, and has caused fatal infections in horses and four people - most recently a veterniarian who had exposure to an infected horse. Nipah virus, a close relative of Hendra virus, was discovered in Malaysia in 1998 and there it is carried by <i>P. vampyrus</i>. In 1997-9 in Malaysia, Nipah virus caused a large outbreak in domestic pigs, which also infected 265 people, killing more than 100. In Bangaldesh, Nipah virus has caused nearly annual outbreaks in people since 2001, with an avearage 75% mortality rate. The virus causes severe central nervous system disease (encephalitis). In Bangladesh, it is carried by <i>P. giganteus</i> (pictured here). These bats are ecologically very important animals and it is important to recognize that outbreaks of henipaviruses typically occur because of human-induced changes to the environment that bring bats and people and/or domestic animals into closer association. Transmission is not from direct contact betwen bats and people, but rather through indirect exposure. Infected bats excrete Nipah virus in saliva and urine. Fruit bats commonly feed on food and date palm sap, also eaten by people. Exposure may occur by eating fruit or date palm sap contaminated with bat saliva or urine. With are working with in-country colleagues, using satellite telemetry in our ecological studies (also pictured here), combined with epidemiological studies in bats and people to better understand when and why outbreaks are likely to occur. Our ultimate goal is to develop strategies to predict and prevent outbreaks.<br /><br />For more information about Nipah virus visit <a href="http://wildlifetrust.org" rel="nofollow"><br />Wildlife Trust </a><br />and <a href="http://www.henipavirus.net" rel="nofollow"> The Henipavirus Ecology Research Group (HERG) </a><br /><br /><br />-J. Epstein DVM, MPHJ. Epsteinhttp://www.wildlifetrust.orgnoreply@blogger.com