1.
Emerg Infect Dis
; 21(8): 1418-21, 2015 Aug.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26177344
ABSTRACT
Because some bats host viruses with zoonotic potential, we investigated human-bat interactions in rural Ghana during 2011-2012. Nearly half (46.6%) of respondents regularly visited bat caves; 37.4% had been bitten, scratched, or exposed to bat urine; and 45.6% ate bat meat. Human-bat interactions in rural Ghana are frequent and diverse.
Subject(s)
Animal Diseases/transmission , Chiroptera/virology , Coronavirus Infections/transmission , Diet, Paleolithic/adverse effects , Disease Vectors , Rural Population , Zoonoses/transmission , Animal Diseases/epidemiology , Animals , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Disease Reservoirs/statistics & numerical data , Disease Reservoirs/virology , Ghana/epidemiology , Humans , Zoonoses/virology
2.
Emerg Infect Dis
; 19(3): 456-9, 2013 Mar.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23622767
ABSTRACT
We screened fecal specimens of 4,758 bats from Ghana and 272 bats from 4 European countries for betacoronaviruses. Viruses related to the novel human betacoronavirus EMC/2012 were detected in 46 (24.9%) of 185 Nycteris bats and 40 (14.7%) of 272 Pipistrellus bats. Their genetic relatedness indicated EMC/2012 originated from bats.
