Munjita Samuel Munalula, Mubemba Benjamin, Changula Katendi, Tembo John, Hamoonga Raymond, Bates Matthew, Chitanga Simbarashe, Munsaka Sody, Simulundu Edgar
Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Department of Wildlife Sciences, School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia.
Front Public Health. 2024 Nov 20;12:1471452. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1471452. eCollection 2024.
Infectious disease agents of animal origin, which can cause mild to severe illnesses in humans, are increasingly spilling over into human populations. Southern Africa, particularly Zambia as a regional transport hub, has experienced notable outbreaks of zoonotic pathogens in recent years. This context underscores the importance of research, as numerous studies over the past 33 years have reported various infectious agents with differing zoonotic potential from bats, rodents, and non-human primates (NHPs) in Zambia. However, the data remained unaggregated, hampering comprehensive and organized understanding of these threats.
A review spanning January 1990 to December 2022 synthesised data from selected studies conducted in bats, rodents, and NHPs across 14 of Zambia's 116 districts.
Among the reported pathogens, viruses predominated (62%, 31/50), followed by parasites (20%, 10/50)), and bacteria (18%, 9/50). Notable pathogens included Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Hantavirus, Zika virus, Human parainfluenza virus-3, , , , , , and . Most identified infectious agents came from short term cross-sectional investigations, thus, the temporal dynamics related to abundance and likelihood of outbreaks remain unknown.
The findings starkly illuminate significant zoonotic public health threats amidst glaring under-surveillance of zoonoses in humans in Zambia. This critical gap calls urgently for enhanced active, passive and syndromic surveillance activities to identify new diseases and provide evidence-based measures to safeguard public health from emerging infectious risks in Zambia and the Southern African sub-region, considering the country's position as a regional transport hub.
源自动物的传染病病原体可导致人类出现从轻度到重度的疾病，并且越来越多地传播到人类群体中。南部非洲，尤其是作为区域交通枢纽的赞比亚，近年来经历了显著的人畜共患病原体疫情。这一背景凸显了研究的重要性，因为在过去33年里，众多研究报告了赞比亚蝙蝠、啮齿动物和非人灵长类动物（NHPs）身上具有不同人畜共患病潜力的各种传染病原体。然而，数据仍未汇总，妨碍了对这些威胁的全面和有条理的理解。
一项涵盖1990年1月至2022年12月的综述综合了在赞比亚116个区中的14个区对蝙蝠、啮齿动物和非人灵长类动物进行的选定研究的数据。
在报告的病原体中，病毒占主导（62%，50种中的31种），其次是寄生虫（20%，50种中的10种）和细菌（18%，50种中的9种）。值得注意的病原体包括埃博拉病毒、马尔堡病毒、汉坦病毒、寨卡病毒、人副流感病毒3型等。大多数已识别的传染病原体来自短期横断面调查，因此，与病原体数量和疫情发生可能性相关的时间动态仍不清楚。
这些发现鲜明地揭示了赞比亚人畜共患病在人类中监测严重不足的情况下存在的重大人畜共患病公共卫生威胁。鉴于该国作为区域交通枢纽的地位，这一关键差距迫切需要加强主动、被动和症状监测活动，以识别新疾病，并提供基于证据的措施，保护赞比亚和南部非洲次区域的公众健康免受新出现的传染病风险。
