Investigating the Risk of Human Disease from Parasites of Small Mammals and Bats
Abstract
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases pose a significant public health challenge globally, with severe economic, social, and health consequences. It is estimated that the SARS outbreak alone cost over $50 billion dollars in lost global economic activity. The frequency of epidemics caused by newly emerging and re-emerging pathogens and the likelihood of rapid global spread have increased dramatically in recent decades, with Southeast Asia considered a hot spot for future emergence events. Small mammals and bats play an important role in the maintenance and transmission of select agents that infect humans such as Brucella species, coronaviruses, filoviruses, henipaviruses, hantaviruses/bunyaviruses, plague, rabies (lyssaviruses) and Rickettsia species. The global distribution of several species of small mammals and bats, in addition to the ever-increasing interface between humans and wildlife, ensures that cross-species transmission events will continue to occur, often with devastating effects such as the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa that originated in bats. By proactively sampling animal populations in Cambodia to discern circulating parasitic genotypes and screening human sera for evidence of exposure, we can determine which parasites have human pathogenic potential. A standardized trapping regimen will allow us to understand which ecological and environmental variables are associated with host and parasite presence-absence, facilitating the creation of ecological niche maps and models to determine risk and inform future surveillance efforts across Southeast Asia.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 26, 2016
- Source ID
- HDTRA11610014
Entities
People
- Gavinjames Smith
Organizations
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- National University of Singapore