Hunting bats for bushmeat despite Nipah concerns in Idukki, Kerala, India
Keywords:
Bushmeat, fruit bats, Nipah outbreak, exploratory surveyAbstract
Bat population throughout the world is in peril due to habitat disruption, climate change and emerging infectious diseases. It is apparent from recent zoonotic disease outbreaks in Africa and Indian subcontinent that consumption of bat bushmeat is risky. Conversely, the present explorative study conducted in Kerala post-Nipah outbreak showed that there is no decline and significant difference in the number of people consuming bat bushmeat during pre and post-Nipah outbreak. This study urges the importance of active participation of policy makers to create awareness about the risk of consuming fruit bats and ecosystem role played by among the people to avoid mass killing of bats. This could be helpful for the conservation of bats as well as to prevent the risk of getting bat borne infection through bushmeat consumption.
References
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Chua KB, Crameri G, Hyatt A, Yu M, Tompang MR (2007) A previously unknown reovirus of bat origin is associated with an acute respiratory disease in humans. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences USA 104: 1142411429.
Chua KB, Goh KJ, Wong KT, Kamarulzaman A, Tan PS, Ksiazek TG, Zaki SR, Paul G, Lam SK, Tan CT (1999) Fatal encephalitis due to Nipah virus among pig-farmers in Malaysia. Lancet 354: 12571259.
Corlett, R. T. (2009) Seed dispersal distance and plant migration potential in tropical East Asia. Biotropica 41: 592–598.
Daszak P, Cunningham A, Hyatt A (2000) Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife threats to biodiversity and human health. Science 287: 443449.
Fleming TH, Geiselman C, Cress WJ (2009) The evolution of bat pollination: a phylogenetic perspective. Annals of Botany 104: 1017–1043.
Hossain MS, Sazzad M, Hossain J, Gurley ES, Ameen KMH, Parveen S, Islam MS, Faruque LI, Podder G, Banu SS, Lo MK, Rollin PE, Rota PA, Daszak P, Rahman M, Luby SP (2013) Nipah virus infection outbreak with nosocomial and corpse-to-human transmission, Bangladesh. Emerging Infectious Diseases 19: 210217.
Jones G, Jacobs DS, Kunz TH, Willing MR, Racey PA (2009) Carpe noctem: the importance of bats as bioindicators. Endangered Species Research 8: 93115.
Kasso K, Balakrishnan M (2013) Ecological and economic importance of bats (Order Chiroptera), Biodiversity 2013: 110.
Kingston T (2010) Research priorities for bat conservation in Southeast Asia: a consensus approach. Biodiversity Conservation 19: 471484.
Lam CW, Abu Bakar S, Chang LY (2017) Identification of the cell binding domain in Nipah virus G glycoprotein using a phage display system. Journal of Virological Methods 243: 19.
Mahandran V, Nathan PT (2014) Consequences of killing and consumption of Indian fulvous fruit bat, Rousettus leschenaulti in their natural roost sites. In: Proceedings of the National Conference on the Recent Trends and Future Perspectives of Biosciences, pp 208–211.
Mahandran V, Murugan CM, Nathan PT (2018) An unusual roosting behaviour of Schneider’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros speoris at a cave-temple roost in Tamil Nadu. Current Science 109: 858859.
Mahandran V, Murugan CM, Marimuthu G, Nathan PT (2018) Seed dispersal of a tropical deciduous Mahua tree, Madhuca latifolia (Sapotaceae) exhibiting bat-fruit syndrome by pteropodid bats. Global Ecology and Conservation 14: e00396.
Milner-Gulland EJ, Rowliffe JM (2007) Conservation and sustainable use: a handbook of techniques. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Nathan PT, Karuppudurai T, Raghuram H, Marimuthu G (2009) Bat foraging strategies and pollination of Madhuca latifolia (Sapotaceae) in Southern India. Acta Chiropterologica 11: 435441.
Nuno A, John FAS (2015) How to ask sensitive questions in conservation: a review of specialized questioning techniques. Biological Conservation 189: 5–15.
Simons RRL, Gale P, Horigan V, Snary EL, Breed AC (2014) Potential for introduction of bat-borne zoonotic viruses into the EU: A review. Viruses 6: 20842121.
Thanapongtharm W, Linard C, Wiriyarat W, Chinsorn P, Kanchanasaka B, Xiao X, Birader C, Wallace RG, Gilbert M (2014) Spatial characterization of colonies of the flying fox bat, a carrier of Nipah virus in Thailand. BMC Veterinary Research 11: 81.
Wolfe ND, Daszak P, Kilpatrik AM, Burke DS (2005) Bushmeat hunting, deforestation, and prediction of zoonoses emergence. Emerging Infectious Diseases 11: 18221827.
World Organisation for Animal Health (2013) OIE listed diseases. http://www.oie.int/animal-health-in-the-world/. Last access: 10 Dec 2018.
Yu J, Lv X, Yang Z, Gao S, Li C, Cai Y, Li J (2018) The main risk factors of Nipah disease and its risk analysis in China. Viruses 10: 572.
