Convergence of Humans, Bats, Trees, and Culture in Nipah Virus Transmission, Bangladesh

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 23; no. 9; pp. 1446 - 1453
• Main Authors: Gurley, Emily S, Hegde, Sonia T, Hossain, Kamal, Sazzad, Hossain M S, Hossain, M Jahangir, Rahman, Mahmudur, Sharker, M A Yushuf, Salje, Henrik, Islam, M Saiful, Epstein, Jonathan H, Khan, Salah U, Kilpatrick, A Marm, Daszak, Peter, Luby, Stephen P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01-09-2017; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Animals; Bangladesh - epidemiology; bats; Case-Control Studies; case–control study; Chiroptera - virology; Convergence of Humans, Bats, Trees, and Culture in Nipah Virus Transmission, Bangladesh; Disease Outbreaks; Disease transmission; Feeding Behavior - ethnology; Henipavirus Infections - epidemiology; Henipavirus Infections - ethnology; Henipavirus Infections - transmission; Henipavirus Infections - virology; human behavior; Humans; Nipah virus; Nipah Virus - isolation & purification; Nipah Virus - pathogenicity; Nipah Virus - physiology; Phoeniceae; Risk; Risk factors; Rural Population; viruses; Zoonoses; Zoonoses - epidemiology; Zoonoses - transmission; Zoonoses - virology; Bangladesh; viruses; date palm sap; convergence; virus transmission; case–control study; zoonoses; trees; bats; epidemiology; Bangladesh; vector-borne infections; culture; human behavior; infections; NiV; Nipah virus; humans
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2309.161922

Preventing emergence of new zoonotic viruses depends on understanding determinants for human risk. Nipah virus (NiV) is a lethal zoonotic pathogen that has spilled over from bats into human populations, with limited person-to-person transmission. We examined ecologic and human behavioral drivers of geographic variation for risk of NiV infection in Bangladesh. We visited 60 villages during 2011-2013 where cases of infection with NiV were identified and 147 control villages. We compared case villages with control villages for most likely drivers for risk of infection, including number of bats, persons, and date palm sap trees, and human date palm sap consumption behavior. Case villages were similar to control villages in many ways, including number of bats, persons, and date palm sap trees, but had a higher proportion of households in which someone drank sap. Reducing human consumption of sap could reduce virus transmission and risk for emergence of a more highly transmissible NiV strain.