Livestock and wildlife interactions for zoonoses outbreak in The Gambia
Research Background
Livestock-wildlife interactions is a critical driver of zoonotic disease emergence, yet there is limited systematic evidence on how agricultural land use influences these interactions in rural sub-Saharan Africa. In The Gambia, agricultural expansion and intensification are reshaping landscapes, altering both domestic and wild animal populations, and creating new interfaces for contact with humans. Despite the importance of the agricultural sector to rural livelihoods, little is known about how these land-use changes shape the frequency, diversity, and intensity of livestock-wildlife interactions. Understanding these dynamics is vital for identifying high-risk practices, informing surveillance, and developing interventions that reduce zoonotic disease transmission while supporting sustainable agricultural development.
Zoonotic diseases pose a significant risk to human health globally. This study attempts to assess the interrelationship between humans, animals, and the environment in the Central River Region (CRR) of The Gambia. This project is collaboration with Prof Kris Murray, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines as well as MRC@Gambia.
Two PhD students (Mr Tanner Smith, University of Geneva and Mr Aliyu Ahmed, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, hereafter LSHTM) investigate the baseline biodiversity distributions and the chances of livestock-wildlife interactions through passive sound sensors (Aliyu) and camera traps (Tanner). The results will be matched with ongoing fieldwork including medical questionnaires, DNA sampling and human behaviors led by Prof Kris Murray.
The project integrates livestock-wildlife contact data, targeted zoonotic pathogen surveys in humans and animals, biodiversity analytics via soundscape analysis, individual-level behavioral factors, and landscape-level ecological factors to weigh risks to human health.
Research Questions
In the context of disease emergence, land-use changes are often discussed as the key driver, but we expect there are other forces among various environmental and social factors involved. Here we examine if the patterns of livestock husbandry may contribute to the zoonoses emergence along with other factors such as land-use and environment.
Especially, Aliyu's research question is "How does the way land is used for farming in rural Gambia affect how often and in what ways people come into contact with animals, and what might this mean for the spread of diseases between animals and humans?" Aliyu is conducting field study collecting disease related information as well as the data from passive sound sensors for wildlife distributions around several villages.
Tanner has been conducting study using camera sensors to capture wildlife distributions.
