Milstein Marissa S, Shaffer Christopher A, Suse Phillip, Marawanaru Elisha, Gillespie Thomas R, Terio Karen A, Wolf Tiffany M, Travis Dominic A
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, 1365 Gortner Avenue, 225 Veterinary Medical Center, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA.
Department of Anthropology, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, 49401, USA.
Ecohealth. 2020 Dec;17(4):424-436. doi: 10.1007/s10393-021-01513-3. Epub 2021 Apr 1.
The hunting, butchery, and consumption of wild meat is an important interface for zoonotic disease transmission. Despite this, few researchers have used ethnography to understand the sociocultural factors that may increase zoonotic disease transmission from hunting, particularly in Amazonia. Here, we use ethnographic methods consisting of structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews, and participant observation to address questions pertaining to wild meat consumption, pathways of zoonotic disease transmission, food security, and the cultural identity of indigenous Waiwai in the Konashen Community Owned Conservation Area, Guyana. Our data revealed that the majority of Waiwai eat wild meat two to three times/week and 60% of respondents reported butchery-related injuries. However, semi-structured and unstructured interviews, and participant observation data indicate that the Waiwai do not perceive most cuts from butchery as injuries, despite being a potential route of pathogen exposure. Additionally, participant observation revealed that hunting is integral to Waiwai identity and the Waiwai exhibit a cultural aversion to domestic meats. These findings provide valuable insights into the interplay of hunting and wild meat consumption and disease in Amazonia and demonstrate how an ethnographic approach provides the contextual data necessary for identifying potential pathways of zoonotic transmission from wild meat.
捕猎、屠宰和食用野生动物是动物源性疾病传播的一个重要环节。尽管如此，很少有研究人员运用人种志方法来了解可能增加捕猎导致动物源性疾病传播的社会文化因素，尤其是在亚马逊地区。在此，我们运用人种志方法，包括结构化、半结构化和非结构化访谈以及参与观察，来解决与食用野生动物、动物源性疾病传播途径、粮食安全以及圭亚那科纳申社区自有保护区内的土著瓦伊瓦伊人的文化认同相关的问题。我们的数据显示，大多数瓦伊瓦伊人每周食用野生动物两到三次，60%的受访者报告有与屠宰相关的受伤情况。然而，半结构化和非结构化访谈以及参与观察数据表明，尽管屠宰是病原体暴露的潜在途径，但瓦伊瓦伊人并不认为大多数屠宰造成的伤口是受伤。此外，参与观察表明，捕猎是瓦伊瓦伊人身份认同的组成部分，而且瓦伊瓦伊人对家养肉类有一种文化上的厌恶。这些发现为亚马逊地区捕猎、食用野生动物与疾病之间的相互作用提供了宝贵的见解，并展示了人种志方法如何提供识别野生动物源性人畜共患病潜在传播途径所需的背景数据。
