Journal article
Mapping the zoonotic niche of Ebola virus disease in Africa
DM Pigott, N Golding, A Mylne, Z Huang, AJ Henry, DJ Weiss, OJ Brady, MUG Kraemer, DL Smith, CL Moyes, S Bhatt, PW Gething, PW Horby, II Bogoch, JS Brownstein, SR Mekaru, AJ Tatem, K Khan, SI Hay
Elife | eLIFE SCIENCES PUBL LTD | Published : 2014
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.04395
Abstract
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a complex zoonosis that is highly virulent in humans. The largest recorded outbreak of EVD is ongoing in West Africa, outside of its previously reported and predicted niche. We assembled location data on all recorded zoonotic transmission to humans and Ebola virus infection in bats and primates (1976-2014). Using species distribution models, these occurrence data were paired with environmental covariates to predict a zoonotic transmission niche covering 22 countries across Central and West Africa. Vegetation, elevation, temperature, evapotranspiration, and suspected reservoir bat distributions define this relationship. At-risk areas are inhabited by 22 million pe..
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Awarded by European Commission
Funding Acknowledgements
DMP is funded by a Sir Richard Southwood Graduate Scholarship from the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford. NG is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1053338). ZH and AH are funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1106023). OJB is funded by a BBSRC studentship. PWG is a Medical Research Council (UK) Career Development Fellow (#K00669X) and receives support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1068048) which also supports DJW and SB. MUGK is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) through a graduate scholarship. JSB and SRM acknowledge funding from NIH National Library of Medicine (R01LM010812) and from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1093011). AJT is supported by funding from NIH/NIAD (U19AI089674) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1106427, #OPP1032350). PWH is funded by the EU FP7 project PREPARE (#602525) and the Li Ka Shing Foundation. KK and IIB acknowledge the support of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. SIH is funded by a Senior Research Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust (#095066) which also supports AM and a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1093011) which also supports CLM. SIH and AJT would also like to acknowledge funding support from the RAPIDD program of the Science & Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, and the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health. Funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.