Search for: All records

ABSTRACT Hantaviruses are globally distributed zoonotic pathogens capable of causing fatal disease in humans. Addressing the risk of hantavirus spillover from animal reservoirs to humans requires identifying the local reservoirs (usually rodents and other small mammals) and the predictors of infection, such as habitat characteristics and human exposure. We screened a collection of 1663 terrestrial small mammals and 227 bats for hantavirus RNA, comprised of native and non‐native species from northeastern Madagascar, trapped over 5 successive years. We specifically investigated the influence of diverse habitat types: villages, agricultural fields, regrowth areas, secondary and semi‐intact forests on infection with hantaviruses. We detected Hantavirus RNA closely related to the previously described Anjozorobe virus in 9.5% ofRattus rattussampled, with an absence of detection in other species. Land‐use had a complex impact on hantavirus infections: intensive land‐use positively correlated with the abundance ofR. rattusand the averageR. rattusbody size varied between habitats. Larger individuals had a higher probability of infection, regardless of sex. Thus, villages and pristine forests which host the smallest, and hence, least infected rats, represent the lowest risk for hantavirus exposure to people while flooded rice fields which were home to the largest rats, and subsequently most infected rats, represent the greatest exposure risk. These findings provide new insights into the relationship between rat ecology and the gradients of hantavirus exposure risk for farmers in northeastern Madagascar as they work in different land‐use types. 

Small terrestrial mammals are major hosts of infectious agents responsible for zoonotic diseases. Astroviruses (AstVs)–the cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis mainly affecting young children–have been detected in a wide array of mammalian and avian host species. However, understanding the factors that influence AstV infection within and across hosts is limited. Here, we investigated the impact of land use changes on AstVs in terrestrial small mammals in rural northeastern Madagascar. We sampled 515 small mammals, representing seven endemic and four introduced species. Twenty-two positive samples were identified, all but one of which were found in the introduced speciesMus musculusandRattus rattus(family Muridae), with a positivity rate of 7.7% (6/78) and 5.6% (15/266), respectively. The non-introduced rodent case was from an endemic shrew-tenrec (family Tenrecidae). We found the highest positivity rate of AstVs infection in brushy regrowth (17.5%, 7/40) as compared to flooded rice fields (4.60%, 8/174), secondary forest (4.1%, 3/74), agroforest (3.6%, 1/28), village (2.61%, 3/115), and semi-intact forest (0%, 0/84). A phylogenetic analysis revealed an association between AstVs and their rodent host species. None of the viruses were phylogenetically related to AstVs previously described in Malagasy bats. This study supports AstV circulation in synanthropic animals in agricultural habitats of Madagascar and highlights the need to assess the spillover risk to human populations in rural areas. 

Abstract Animals that depend on water sources in dry environments must balance their water demands with predation risk. In settings of water scarcity, predators may strategically exploit prey’s dependence on water; prey may adjust their use of water sources either spatially or temporally to avoid overlapping with predators. To examine the spatiotemporal dynamics of predators and prey at water sources, we studied the use of semipermanent waterholes in the dry season by red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons), a primate species that exhibits flexible circadian activity patterns and inhabits a dry deciduous forest in western Madagascar. We hypothesized that lemurs avoid predators in their spatiotemporal use of waterholes. We analyzed the patterns of camera trap activations at waterholes by red-fronted lemurs and their two main predators: fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) and Madagascar harrier hawks (Polyboroides radiatus). We found that red-fronted lemurs were unlikely to use waterholes at times of day when predators were commonly present, and that the distributions of times of waterhole use differed between red-fronted lemurs and each of their predator species. Red-fronted lemurs frequently used waterholes that were also used by predators within the same week in part because the predators used a variable set of water resources. In this system, predators did not appear to exploit waterholes for the high density of red-fronted lemurs attracted to them, but instead likely used waterholes primarily to meet their own water demands. Our findings suggest that when predators and prey share water sources, prey may adjust their behavior to reduce their risk of overlap with predators, including through avoidance of indirect cues of predation, such as waterholes at particular times of day.