Ebola : Human, Animal and Environmental Health Connections
Ebola virus is one of a growing number of emerging infectious diseases that originate in animals and have the ability to cross over into human populations (Zoonotic). As the current outbreak continues to escalate, a number of important issues involving human, animal and environmental health have gained global attention.
These include:
- How did Ebola move from animals to people?
- Leroy, Eric M, et al. "Fruit Bats as Reservoirs of Ebola Virus." Nature 438.7068 (2005): 575-76. Print.
- Leroy, Eric M. et al. "Human Ebola Outbreak Resulting from Direct Exposure to Fruit Bats in Luebo, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2007." Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 9.6 (2009): 723-28. Open Access.
- What zoonotic infection transmission event(s) led to the current Ebola virus disease outbreak?
- Gire, S. K., et al. "Genomic Surveillance Elucidates Ebola Virus Origin and Transmission During the 2014 Outbreak." Science 345.6202 (2014): 1369-72. Open Access
- What do we know about Ebola infection in animals?
- Breman, J.G. , et al. "A Search for Ebola Virus in Animals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon: Ecologic, Virologic, and Serologic Surveys, 1979–1980." Journal of Infectious Diseases 179.Supplement 1 (1999): S139-S47. Open Access
- Lahm, S. A., et al. "Morbidity and Mortality of Wild Animals in Relation to Outbreaks of Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever in Gabon, 1994-2003." Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 101.1 (2007): 64-78. Print.
- What do people need to know about Ebola and their pets?
- Allela, Loïs, et al. "Ebola Virus Antibody Prevalence in Dogs and Human Risk." Emerg Infect Dis 11.3 (2005): 385-90. Open Access
- Additionally, see the CDC’s info page regarding this topic at: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas-pets.html
- To what extent does Ebola present an environmental health hazard? (i.e. persistence in the environment)
- Sinclair, Ryan, et al. "Persistence of Category a Select Agents in the Environment." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 74.3 (2008): 555-63. Open Access.
- Bausch, Daniel G, et al. "Assessment of the Risk of Ebola Virus Transmission from Bodily Fluids and Fomites." Journal of Infectious Diseases 196.Supplement 2 (2007): S142-S47. Open Access.
- How has environmental change contributed to the current Ebola virus outbreak?
- Wolfe, N.D., et al. "Bushmeat Hunting, Deforestation, and Prediction of Zoonotic Disease." Emerging Infectious Diseases 11.12 (2005): 1822-27. Print.
- Which animal populations have been reduced by Ebola?
- Bermejo, M., et al. "Ebola Outbreak Killed 5000 Gorillas." Science 314.5805 (2006): 1564. Open Access.
- Leroy, E.M., et al. "Multiple Ebola Virus Transmission Events and Rapid Decline of Central African Wildlife." Science 16.303 (2004): 387-90. Open Access.
Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases like Ebola, SARS and HIV are a reminder of the inextricable links between humans, animals and the environment. These linkages call for new tools for cooperation and collaboration between public health professionals and veterinarians to better address vital issues of these emerging infectious diseases.
Experts Speak on One Health Issue of the Ebola Crisis
- AMVA Guidelines
- "Here's how cutting down West African trees made us vulnerable to Ebola" - PRI (Public Radio International)
- “How saving West African forests might have prevented the Ebola epidemic” – The Guardian
- “Ebola is Just One of Many” – pictograph from Eco-Health Alliance
- “Ebola Also Strikes Great Apes” – Voice of America News
- “Deforestation, development may be driving Ebola outbreaks, experts say” – Aljazeera America
- “The Critical Question We Are Not Asking About the Ebola Outbreak” – Huffington Post
Resources
- Questions and Answers about Ebola and Pets - CDC (2014)
- EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER. FACT SHEET - Centers of Disease Control CDC, (2014)
- CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH EBOLA POCKET GUIDE FOR FRONT-LINE WORKERS - Ministry of Health, Uganda; World Health Organization (WHO), (2014)
- INFECTION CONTROL IN SCREENING EBOLA SUSPECTED CASES AND CONTACTS IN HEALTH FACILITY ENTRY CLINICS - World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, (2014)
- EBOLA FACT SHEET - World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) (2014).
- EBOLA: ENVIRONMENTAL INFECTION CONTROL IN HOSPITALS, US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (2014)
Bibliography
Important Journal References Regarding Ebola Transmission, Zoonotic and Reverse Zoonotic Risk, and other critical Ebola One Health issues.
Dogs
- Allela, Loïs, et al. "Ebola virus antibody prevalence in dogs and human risk." Emerg Infect Dis 11.3 (2005): 385-90. Open Access
Pigs
- Weingartl, Hana M., et al. "Transmission of Ebola virus from pigs to non-human primates." Scientific reports 2 (2012). Open Access
- Marsh, GA., et al. "Ebola Reston Virus Infection of Pigs: Clinical Significance and Transmission Potential." Journal of Infectious Diseases, (2011) 204:S804-S80
Non-Human Primates
- Weingartl, Hana M., et al. "Transmission of Ebola virus from pigs to non-human primates." Scientific reports 2 (2012). Open Access
- Jahrling, P. B., et al. "Preliminary report: isolation of Ebola virus from monkeys imported to USA." The Lancet 335.8688 (1990): 502-505.
Transmission
- Bausch, DG., et al. "Assessment of the Risk of Ebola Virus Transmission from Bodily Fluids and Fomites" Journal of Infectious Diseases, (2007) 196: S142:S147 Open Access
- Leroy, Eric M., et al. "Human Ebola outbreak resulting from direct exposure to fruit bats in Luebo, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2007." Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases 9.6 (2009): 723-728 Open Access