Abstract
This article explores the implications for human health of local interactions between disease, ecosystems and livelihoods. Five interdisciplinary case studies addressed zoonotic diseases in African settings: Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Kenya, human African trypanosomiasis in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Lassa fever in Sierra Leone and henipaviruses in Ghana. Each explored how ecological changes and human–ecosystem interactions affect pathogen dynamics and hence the likelihood of zoonotic spillover and transmission, and how socially differentiated peoples’ interactions with ecosystems and animals affect their exposure to disease. Cross-case analysis highlights how these dynamics vary by ecosystem type, across a range from humid forest to semi-arid savannah; the significance of interacting temporal and spatial scales; and the importance of mosaic and patch dynamics. Ecosystem interactions and services central to different people's livelihoods and well-being include pastoralism and agro-pastoralism, commercial and subsistence crop farming, hunting, collecting food, fuelwood and medicines, and cultural practices. There are synergies, but also tensions and trade-offs, between ecosystem changes that benefit livelihoods and affect disease. Understanding these can inform ‘One Health’ approaches towards managing ecosystems in ways that reduce disease risks and burdens.This article is part of the themed issue ‘One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being’.
Highlights
Health is a critical aspect of human well-being, interacting with material and social relations to contribute to people’s freedoms and choices
Each asked: how do ecological changes and human – ecosystem interactions affect pathogen dynamics and the likelihood of zoonotic spillover and transmission? How do different peoples’ interactions with ecosystems and animals, in the context of their daily lives, livelihoods and socio-economic activities, affect their exposure to disease? How do social differences—by gender, age, wealth, occupation—affect these interactions? What are the synergies, and tensions and trade-offs, between ecosystem interactions that are important for livelihoods, and those that put people at risk of disease?. We investigated these interactions through case studies focusing on four diseases in five local systems: Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Kenya, human African trypanosomiasis in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Lassa fever in Sierra Leone and henipaviruses in Ghana
The case study sought a better understanding of possible points of disease risk by exploring the prevalence and location of bats in Ghana, how people interact with bats in the context of their livelihoods and use of ecosystems, how this differed by social group and between rural and urban areas, and people’s perceptions of bats and disease
Summary
Health is a critical aspect of human well-being, interacting with material and social relations to contribute to people’s freedoms and choices. The case study examined Mastomys abundance and human activities in different agricultural land-use types over seasonal time points tied into major agricultural activities It took place in eastern Sierra Leone in the districts of Kenema and Kailahun, dominated by Mende-speaking people, where there is a high level of LF incidence. The case study sought a better understanding of possible points of disease risk by exploring the prevalence and location of bats in Ghana, how people interact with bats in the context of their livelihoods and use of ecosystems, how this differed by social group and between rural and urban areas, and people’s perceptions of bats and disease. The ongoing analysis of human blood samples should enable further interrogation of this proposition
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