Three years after a case in the Philippines showed Ebola transmission between pigs and farmers, Canadian scientists found that apparently healthy pigs could pass on the most deadly strain of Ebola (the Zaire-Ebola virus) to monkeys without direct contact. Until 2009 no one knew that pigs could carry Ebola, because they show no symptoms of the disease. Head researcher David Sanders said “while bird transmission of Ebola is by no means certain, the resemblance among all these viruses should encourage health officials to be on guard for it.” This means birds may be able to spread the virus to humans. There is limited data about the prevalence of Ebola in birds but a 2002 study from Purdue University found that the Ebola virus closely resembles the structure of several bird viruses. Research has shown gorillas and chimpanzees suffer massive population declines during Ebola outbreaks, with the virus killing an estimated 5,000 gorillas in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo from 2002-2003. Non-human primates, like monkeys, are also suspected carriers of the disease and, as in humans, the Ebola virus can kill them. Guinea, where bat soup is a local delicacy, has reportedly banned the sale and consumption of bat meat since the start of the outbreak. Whereas most dogs in Western Europe are fed dog food, many of the dogs studied in Gabon scavenged for their food, eating small dead animals that could have exposed them to the virus.īoth the World Health Organization and recent reports have suggested that the 2014 outbreak of Ebola can be traced to fruit bats in the West Africa region. The study also suggests that differences in behavior and diet of pet dogs may alter risks in Ebola transmission. David Moore, an expert in infectious diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that since no dogs showed symptoms of the Ebola virus “there is absolutely no evidence to support a role for dogs in transmission.” Instead, the study assumed dogs would transmit the infection in the same way as other animals observed in experiments those animals excreted viral particles (in saliva, urine, feces) for a short period before the virus was cleared. The researchers concluded that “dogs could be a potential source of human Ebola outbreaks and of virus spread during human outbreaks,” but they did not test their hypothesis that human infection could occur through licking, biting or grooming. Any infected carcasses could spread the virus to hunters or to anyone who eats bush meat. In fact, that’s how it spreads, from probably bats to animals living in the forest, people hunting the animals.” Ebola has to date been found in many bush animals, including bush pigs, rodents, porcupines and forest-dwelling antelope. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a news conference on Tuesday that “we know in rural areas of Africa, Ebola can infect mammals. ![]() But how much do we know about which animals can catch and transmit the deadly virus?ĭr. That’s at the heart of a controversial move by Spanish health authorities, who have obtained a court order to euthanize the dog belonging to a nurse who contracted the Ebola virus in Madrid, saying that available scientific knowledge suggests dogs can transmit the virus to humans. ![]() But there is a difference between having a disease and transmitting it to another animal-or another species. The Ebola virus can be found across the animal kingdom, from bats and birds to pigs and porcupines.
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