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Human Interactions with Bat Populations in Bombali, Sierra Leone

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Abstract

Human contact with bats has been epidemiologically linked to several of the most recent Ebola outbreaks, including the 2014 West Africa epidemic and the 2007 Luebo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, outbreak. While fruit bats remain the likely primary reservoir for Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus), recent wildlife surveillance efforts have identified a new species of ebolavirus (Bombali ebolavirus) in microchiropteran insect-eating bats in West and East Africa. Given the role of bats as potential Ebola reservoirs and sources of spillover into human populations, it is critically important to understand the circumstances and behaviors that bring human populations into close contact with bats. This study explores two sites in Bombali, Sierra Leone, where human populations have had close contact with microchiropteran bats via household infestations and fruit bats by hunting practices. Through interviews and focus groups, we identify the knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors that may potentially protect or expose individuals to zoonotic spillover through direct and indirect contact with bats. We also describe how this research was used to develop a risk reduction and outreach tool for living safely with bats.

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Acknowledgements

This study was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT project (cooperative agreement number GHN-A-OO-09-00010-00). The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. This work would not have been possible without the work of the Sierra Leone PREDICT field and lab teams, Emmanuel Amara, Fatmata Bairoh, Abdulai Bangura, Moinya Coomber, Lily Kainwo, Lukeman Kamara, Maryln Kanu, Osman Kanu, Dickson Kargbo, Edwin Lavalie, Victor Lungay, Willie Roberts, Daniel Seaay, and Mohamed Turay.

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Correspondence to Jason Euren.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Office of the Sierra Leone Ethics and Scientific Review Committee of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown and the Institutional Review Board at the University of California, Davis (#754490).

Human and Animal Rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Euren, J., Bangura, J., Gbakima, A. et al. Human Interactions with Bat Populations in Bombali, Sierra Leone. EcoHealth 17, 292–301 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-020-01502-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-020-01502-y

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