Abstract
BackgroundLassa fever (LF) is one of the most devastating rodent-borne diseases in West Africa, causing thousands of deaths annually. The geographical expansion of LF is also a concern; cases were recently identified in Ghana and Benin. Previous ecological studies have suggested that high natural-host biodiversity reduces the likelihood of spillover transmission of rodent-borne diseases, by suppressing the activities of reservoir species. However, the association of biodiversity with the geographical expansion of LF has not been the subject of epidemiological studies.Methodology/Principal findingsWe conducted a spatial analysis based on sociodemographic, geographical, and ecological data, and found that higher rodent species richness was significantly associated with a lower risk of LF emergence in West Africa from 2008 to 2017 (Odds Ratio = 0.852, 95% Credible Interval = 0.745–0.971).Conclusions/SignificanceThe results reinforce the importance of the ‘One Health’ approach by demonstrating that a high level of biodiversity could benefit human health.
Highlights
Considering that the dilution effect may be applicable to the geographic expansion of rodent-borne infectious diseases in that a high rodent species diversity could decrease migration of infected rodents from the disease-endemic area, we examined the association between rodent species richness and the geographical expansion of Lassa fever (LF) in West African countries
Lassa fever (LF) is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever transmitted by Mastomys natalensis, a multi-mammate rat, which is broadly distributed across sub-Saharan Africa
We examined the association between rodent species richness and the geographical expansion of LF in West African countries based on spatial data from multiple sources
Summary
Lassa fever (LF) is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever transmitted by Mastomys natalensis, a multi-mammate rat, which is broadly distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. The annual number of cases has been estimated based on a longitudinal study as 100,000–300,000, with 5,000 deaths, there is a large uncertainty with these estimates. LF have caused a global concern, as Germany [4], the United Kingdom [5] and the United States [6] reported imported LF cases. Lassa fever (LF) is one of the most devastating rodent-borne diseases in West Africa, causing thousands of deaths annually. The geographical expansion of LF is a concern; cases were recently identified in Ghana and Benin. Previous ecological studies have suggested that high natural-host biodiversity reduces the likelihood of spillover transmission of rodent-borne diseases, by suppressing the activities of reservoir species. The association of biodiversity with the geographical expansion of LF has not been the subject of epidemiological studies
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