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Home / Equine Research Bank / PLoS One / Flying-fox species density–a spatial risk factor for H...
PloS one2014; 9(6); e99965; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099965

Flying-fox species density–a spatial risk factor for Hendra virus infection in horses in eastern Australia.

Abstract: Hendra virus causes sporadic but typically fatal infection in horses and humans in eastern Australia. Fruit-bats of the genus Pteropus (commonly known as flying-foxes) are the natural host of the virus, and the putative source of infection in horses; infected horses are the source of human infection. Effective treatment is lacking in both horses and humans, and notwithstanding the recent availability of a vaccine for horses, exposure risk mitigation remains an important infection control strategy. This study sought to inform risk mitigation by identifying spatial and environmental risk factors for equine infection using multiple analytical approaches to investigate the relationship between plausible variables and reported Hendra virus infection in horses. Spatial autocorrelation (Global Moran's I) showed significant clustering of equine cases at a distance of 40 km, a distance consistent with the foraging 'footprint' of a flying-fox roost, suggesting the latter as a biologically plausible basis for the clustering. Getis-Ord Gi* analysis identified multiple equine infection hot spots along the eastern Australia coast from far north Queensland to central New South Wales, with the largest extending for nearly 300 km from southern Queensland to northern New South Wales. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) showed the density of P. alecto and P. conspicillatus to have the strongest positive correlation with equine case locations, suggesting these species are more likely a source of infection of Hendra virus for horses than P. poliocephalus or P. scapulatus. The density of horses, climate variables and vegetation variables were not found to be a significant risk factors, but the residuals from the GWR suggest that additional unidentified risk factors exist at the property level. Further investigations and comparisons between case and control properties are needed to identify these local risk factors.
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Publication Date: 2014-06-17 PubMed ID: 24936789PubMed Central: PMC4061024DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099965Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research investigates how the density of certain species of fruit bats, known as flying-foxes, impacts the risk of Hendra virus infection in horses. The research uses spatial autocorrelation and geographically weighted regression to identify infection hot spots and risk factors for equine infection in eastern Australia.

Methodology

  • The study used statistical methods like Spatial autocorrelation (Global Moran’s I) to identify patterns of Hendra virus infection in horses.
  • The Global Moran’s I statistic revealed significant clustering of equine cases at a distance of 40 km, consistent with the foraging footprint of a flying-fox roost.
  • The researchers used Getis-Ord Gi* analysis to identify multiple infection hot spots along eastern Australia’s coast.
  • They then applied Geographically weighted regression (GWR) to establish a correlation between the location of horse cases and the density of specific flying-fox species.

Findings

  • The study highlighted that the density of P. alecto and P. conspicillatus flying-fox species is strongly positive correlated with the location of horse cases, suggesting that these species may be a more likely source of Hendra virus infection for horses than other species studied.
  • The research identified a number of hot spots for equine infection extending nearly 300 km along the eastern Australia coast.
  • The research concluded that the density of horses, climate variables, and vegetation variables were not significantly related to the risk of Hendra virus infection.
  • However, the analysis indicated that there are additional unidentified risk factors at the property level that can influence the infection risk.

Implications

  • These findings can guide effective risk mitigation strategies to control the spread of Hendra virus, which is known to cause sporadic but typically fatal infections in horses and humans.
  • Further investigation and comparison between case and control properties are required to identify these local risk factors.

Cite This Article

APA
Smith C, Skelly C, Kung N, Roberts B, Field H. (2014). Flying-fox species density–a spatial risk factor for Hendra virus infection in horses in eastern Australia. PLoS One, 9(6), e99965. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099965

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 9
Issue: 6
Pages: e99965

Researcher Affiliations

Smith, Craig
  • Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Skelly, Chris
  • Biosecurity Intelligence Unit, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; GIS People Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Kung, Nina
  • Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Roberts, Billie
  • Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Field, Hume
  • Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; EcoHealth Alliance, New York, New York, United States of America.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Chiroptera / virology
  • Disease Reservoirs / virology
  • Hendra Virus
  • Henipavirus Infections / epidemiology
  • Henipavirus Infections / transmission
  • Henipavirus Infections / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horse Diseases / transmission
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses
  • New South Wales / epidemiology
  • Queensland / epidemiology
  • Risk Factors

Conflict of Interest Statement

Competing Interests: The employment of one of the authors (WCS) by a commercial company (GIS People P/L) does not affect the authors’ Competing Interests and Financial disclosure, and does not alter adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

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