Baguma James Natweta, Namusisi Shamilah, Ninsiima Lesley Rose, Musiitwa Rogers, Tamale Bridget Nagawa, Amperiize Mathius, Bulafu Douglas, Muleme James, Musoke David, Kankya Clovice, Kato Charles Drago
Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Makerere Hill, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Biosecurity, Ecosystems and Veterinary Public Health, School of Biosecurity, Biotechnology and Laboratory Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Makerere Hill, Kampala, Uganda.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025 Aug 18;5(8):e0004249. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004249. eCollection 2025.
More than 70% of new, emerging, and reemerging infectious diseases are from animal origin. Human interaction with bats has been associated as a driver for various fetal zoonoses, including numerous viral diseases of bat-origin. A lot of serological evidence has been gathered around human-bat interaction, yet very little is known regarding the underlying risk factors at community level. This study was aimed at understanding the human-bat interactions and associated factors among communities in Bundibugyo District in Uganda. A cross-sectional study was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods in Harugale, Burondo and Ntandi Subcounties in Bundibugyo District between November 2022 and March 2023. A total of 344 participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were also conducted among purposively selected individuals who have vast knowledge on human-bat interaction. Proportional piling and FGDs were conducted among groups of men, women, and youths to get their insights into human-bat interaction. The study revealed that 54.1% of the respondents were males, 42.1% were aged above 40 years. Households headed by males (APR = 1.31, 95% CI:1.07-1.62, Batwa communities (APR = 3.03, 95% CI:1.87-3.94), residing in urban areas (APR = 1.72, 95 CI%:1.35-2.20), trading of food and animal products (APR = 0.6, 95 CI%:0.36-0.99), no occupation (APR = 0.27, 95 CI%:0.12-0.57) and residing in incomplete houses (APR = 1.57, 95 CI%:1.25-1.98) were significantly associated with exposure of humans to bats. There was high exposure of humans to bats in Ntandi compared to Burondo and Harugale. Women groups highlighted use of bat repellants and killing of bats using sticks as the measures to reduce human bat interaction during the focus group discussions (FGDs). Generally, there is high exposure to bats among human communities in Bundibugyo district which increases the risk of zoonotic disease transmission at human-bat interface. Findings from this study aim to enable the one health interventions to reduce bat-human interaction potential risks in both urban and rural areas and support design of feasible interventions for Bundibugyo district and Uganda at large.
超过70%的新出现、再度出现的传染病源自动物。人类与蝙蝠的接触被认为是多种人畜共患病的驱动因素，包括许多源自蝙蝠的病毒性疾病。围绕人类与蝙蝠的接触已经收集了大量血清学证据，但对于社区层面的潜在风险因素却知之甚少。本研究旨在了解乌干达本迪布焦区各社区中人类与蝙蝠的接触情况及相关因素。2022年11月至2023年3月期间，在本迪布焦区的哈鲁加勒、布伦多和恩坦迪子县采用定性和定量数据收集方法进行了一项横断面研究。使用结构化问卷对总共344名参与者进行了访谈。还对特意挑选的、对人类与蝙蝠的接触有丰富知识的个人进行了关键 informant 访谈（KIIs）。在男性、女性和青年群体中进行了比例堆积和焦点小组讨论（FGDs），以了解他们对人类与蝙蝠接触的看法。研究表明，54.1%的受访者为男性，42.1%的受访者年龄在40岁以上。以男性为户主的家庭（调整后风险比[APR]=1.31，95%置信区间：1.07-1.62）、巴特瓦社区（APR=3.03，95%置信区间：1.87-3.94）、居住在城市地区（APR=1.72，95%置信区间：1.35-2.20）、从事食品和动物产品交易（APR=0.6，95%置信区间：0.36-0.99）、无业（APR=0.27，95%置信区间：0.12-0.57）以及居住在未完工房屋中（APR=1.57，95%置信区间：1.25-1.98）与人类接触蝙蝠显著相关。与布伦多和哈鲁加勒相比，恩坦迪的人类接触蝙蝠的情况更为严重。在焦点小组讨论（FGDs）中，女性群体强调使用蝙蝠驱避剂和用棍棒捕杀蝙蝠是减少人类与蝙蝠接触的措施。总体而言，本迪布焦区的人类社区中接触蝙蝠的情况较为普遍，这增加了人畜共患病在人类与蝙蝠接触界面传播的风险。本研究的结果旨在使“同一健康”干预措施能够降低城市和农村地区蝙蝠与人类接触的潜在风险，并支持为本迪布焦区乃至乌干达设计可行的干预措施。
