Browsing by Author "Baker, K.S."
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Item Continent-wide panmixia of an African fruit bat facilitates transmission of potentially zoonotic viruses(Nature Communications, 2013-11) Peel, A.J.; Sargan, D.R.; Baker, K.S.; Hayman, D.T.S.; Barr, J.A.; Crameri, G.; Suu-Ire, R.; Broder, C.C.; Lembo, T.; Wang, L.-F.; Fooks, A.R.; Rossiter, S.J.; Wood, J.L.N.; Cunningham, A.A.The straw-coloured fruit bat, Eidolon helvum, is Africa's most widely distributed and commonly hunted fruit bat, often living in close proximity to human populations. This species has been identified as a reservoir of potentially zoonotic viruses, but uncertainties remain regarding viral transmission dynamics and mechanisms of persistence. Here we combine genetic and serological analyses of populations across Africa, to determine the extent of epidemiological connectivity among E. helvum populations. Multiple markers reveal panmixia across the continental range, at a greater geographical scale than previously recorded for any other mammal, whereas populations on remote islands were genetically distinct. Multiple serological assays reveal antibodies to henipaviruses and Lagos bat virus in all locations, including small isolated island populations, indicating that factors other than population size and connectivity may be responsible for viral persistence. Our findings have potentially important public health implications, and highlight a need to avoid disturbances that may precipitate viral spillover. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.Item A framework for the study of zoonotic disease emergence and its drivers: spillover of bat pathogens as a case study(2012) Wood, J.L.N.; Leach, M.; Waldman, L.; MacGregor, H.; Fooks, A.R.; Jones, K.E.; Restif, O.; Dechmann, D.; Hayman, D.T.S.; Baker, K.S.; Peel, A.J.; Kamins, A.O.; Fahr, J.; Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y.; Suu-Ire, R.; Breiman, R.F.; Epstein, J.H.; Field, H.E.; Cunningham, A.A.Many serious emerging zoonotic infections have recently arisen from bats, including Ebola, Marburg, SARS-coronavirus, Hendra, Nipah, and a number of rabies and rabies-related viruses, consistent with the overall observation that wildlife are an important source of emerging zoonoses for the human population. Mechanisms underlying the recognized association between ecosystem health and human health remain poorly understood and responding appropriately to the ecological, social and economic conditions that facilitate disease emergence and transmission represents a substantial societal challenge. In the context of disease emergence from wildlife, wildlife and habitat should be conserved, which in turn will preserve vital ecosystem structure and function, which has broader implications for human wellbeing and environmental sustainability, while simultaneously minimizing the spillover of pathogens from wild animals into human beings. In this review, we propose a novel framework for the holistic and nterdisciplinary investigation of zoonotic disease emergence and its drivers, using the spillover of bat pathogens as a case study. This study has been developed to gain a detailed interdisciplinary understanding, and it combines cutting-edge perspectives from both natural and social sciences, linked to policy impacts on public health, land use and conservation.Item Metagenomic study of the viruses of African straw-coloured fruit bats: Detection of a chiropteran poxvirus and isolation of a novel adenovirus(Virology, 2013-07) Baker, K.S.; Leggett, R.M.; Bexfield, N.H.; Alston, M.; Daly, G.; Todd, S.; Tachedjian, M.; Holmes, C.E.G.; Crameri, S.; Wang, L.-F.; Heeney, J.L.; Suu-Ire, R.; Kellam, P.; Cunningham, A.A.; Wood, J.L.N.; Caccamo, M.; Murcia, P.R.Viral emergence as a result of zoonotic transmission constitutes a continuous public health threat. Emerging viruses such as SARS coronavirus, hantaviruses and henipaviruses have wildlife reservoirs. Characterising the viruses of candidate reservoir species in geographical hot spots for viral emergence is a sensible approach to develop tools to predict, prevent, or contain emergence events. Here, we explore the viruses of Eidolon helvum, an Old World fruit bat species widely distributed in Africa that lives in close proximity to humans. We identified a great abundance and diversity of novel herpes and papillomaviruses, described the isolation of a novel adenovirus, and detected, for the first time, sequences of a chiropteran poxvirus closely related with Molluscum contagiosum. In sum, E. helvum display a wide variety of mammalian viruses, some of them genetically similar to known human pathogens, highlighting the possibility of zoonotic transmission. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.