Global mapping of bushmeat activity to improve zoonotic spillover surveillance Zoonosis Food InfectiousDisease Meat BushMeat Spillover CDC_NCEZID
By Dr. Chinta SidharthanMar 28 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. In a recent study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers use geospatial models based on published data and demographic and ecological drivers of bushmeat activity to predict the global rural areas of bushmeat activity. This information can be utilized to predict the emergence of zoonotic diseases.
Bushmeat activities include the hunting, selling, and cooking bushmeat, all of which increase the probability of contact with infectious pathogens found in these wild mammals. As a result, these activities increase the likelihood of transmitting pathogens between humans and animal species, leading to local outbreaks, regional epidemics, and pandemics.
About the study In the present study, researchers used demographic and environmental covariates and published data to calibrate geospatial models to map bushmeat activities across rural areas in tropical and subtropical regions. Various geospatial models were used to map areas of bushmeat activities, which were then classified according to the probability of bushmeat activities into four categories. These included very low probability , low probability , intermediate probability , and high probability .
Results West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central Africa were predominantly associated with bushmeat activities. In countries such as Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, the Central African Republic, and Cameroon, the availability of domestic livestock was extremely low, thus making bushmeat an important food source.
Vietnam and Laos were the two southeast Asian countries with the highest association with bushmeat activities. Notably, wildlife trade between Laos, Vietnam, and China has been previously reported. Studies have previously connected the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 in Guangdong province with trade with Laos and Vietnam.
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