Journal article

Ecological dynamics of emerging bat virus spillover

Raina K Plowright, Peggy Eby, Peter J Hudson, Ina L Smith, David Westcott, Wayne L Bryden, Deborah Middleton, Peter A Reid, Rosemary A McFarlane, Gerardo Martin, Gary M Tabor, Lee F Skerratt, Dale L Anderson, Gary Crameri, David Quammen, David Jordan, Paul Freeman, Lin-Fa Wang, Jonathan H Epstein, Glenn A Marsh Show all

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES | ROYAL SOC | Published : 2015

Abstract

Viruses that originate in bats may be the most notorious emerging zoonoses that spill over from wildlife into domestic animals and humans. Understanding how these infections filter through ecological systems to cause disease in humans is of profound importance to public health. Transmission of viruses from bats to humans requires a hierarchy of enabling conditions that connect the distribution of reservoir hosts, viral infection within these hosts, and exposure and susceptibility of recipient hosts. For many emerging bat viruses, spillover also requires viral shedding from bats, and survival of the virus in the environment. Focusing on Hendra virus, but also addressing Nipah virus, Ebola vir..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

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Funding Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Commonwealth of Australia, the State of New South Wales and the State of Queensland under the National Hendra Virus Research Program, awarded through the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. R. K. P. was supported by the Cedar Tree Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation and P. Tye. R. K. P. and G. T. were supported by the Linnaeus Estate. P.J.H. was supported by the Research and Policy for Infectious Disease Dynamics program of the Science and Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security and Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health.