HUM-ANI: Contacts among animals & humans & infectious risk

Donors/Funders: 
BNP Paribas Foundation
Implementers: 
RP-PCP; University of Zimbabwe; Chinhoyi University of Technology; University of Nelson Mandela; University of Oxford; Imperial College of London; CIRAD; CNRS
Countries: 
Objectives: 
i) characterise the community of hosts in contacts (wild, domestic animals & humans) at the interface between protected & communal areas in 3 socio ecosystems under differing climate conditions; ii) characterise the movements & habitat use of the different species in one community of hosts; iii) use social network analyses to characterise interactions among hosts & their variation according to season & the climatic conditions in the 3 host communities; iv) monitor the spatio-temporal dynamics of a marker of transmission (i.e. FMD) in the multi-hosts community; v) study the evolution of a pathogen infecting multiple hosts according to the contact rates, determine origin, maintenance populatiols & directionality of transmission; vi) model how loss of biodiversity, increased temperatures & decreased rainfall are likely to modify the host contact networks & resulting infectious diseases risks for wildlife, livestock & humans; vii) produce key indicators & decision support tools for stakeholders & civil society to manage complex SE under climate change; viii) raise awareness on ecological, epidemiological & sociological factors influencing the functioning of complex SE under climate change

Investigates the question of how climate change modifies interactions between wildlife, livestock & humans in a biodiversity hotspot, and subsequently looking at the infectious disease consequences of such interactions. The study is being conducted at the interface between communal & PAs.

Timeframe: 
2020 to 2023
Thematic Focus: 
Research
1st Contact Name: 
Eve Miguel