Pteropus lylei primarily forages in residential areas in Kandal, Cambodia.

Bats are the second most species-rich Mammalian order and provide a wide range of ecologically important and economically significant ecosystem services. Nipah virus is a zoonotic emerging infectious disease for which pteropodid bats have been identified as a natural reservoir. In Cambodia, Nipah virus circulation has been reported in Pteropus lylei, but little is known about the spatial distribution of the species and the associated implications for conservation and public health.We deployed Global Positioning System (GPS) collars on 14 P. lylei to study their movements and foraging behavior in Cambodia in 2016. All of the flying foxes were captured from the same roost, and GPS locations were collected for 1 month. The habitats used by each bat were characterized through ground-truthing, and a spatial distribution model was developed of foraging sites.A total of 13,643 valid locations were collected during the study. Our study bats flew approximately 20 km from the roost each night to forage. The maximum distance traveled per night ranged from 6.88-105 km and averaged 28.3 km. Six of the 14 bats visited another roost for at least one night during the study, including one roost located 105 km away.Most foraging locations were in residential areas (53.7%) followed by plantations (26.6%). Our spatial distribution model confirmed that residential areas were the preferred foraging habitat for P. lylei, although our results should be interpreted with caution due to the limited number of individuals studied. Synthesis and applications: Our findings suggest that the use of residential and agricultural habitats by P. lylei may create opportunities for bats to interact with humans and livestock. They also suggest the importance of anthropogenic habitats for conservation of this vulnerable and ecologically important group in Cambodia. Our mapping of the probability of occurrence of foraging sites will help identification of areas where public awareness should be promoted regarding the ecosystem services provided by flying foxes and potential for disease transmission through indirect contact.

Development and Assessment of a Geographic Knowledge-Based Model for Mapping Suitable Areas for Rift Valley Fever Transmission in Eastern Africa.

Rift Valley fever (RVF), a mosquito-borne disease affecting ruminants and humans, is one of the most important viral zoonoses in Africa. The objective of the present study was to develop a geographic knowledge-based method to map the areas suitable for RVF amplification and RVF spread in four East African countries, namely, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia, and to assess the predictive accuracy of the model using livestock outbreak data from Kenya and Tanzania. Risk factors and their relative importance regarding RVF amplification and spread were identified from a literature review. A numerical weight was calculated for each risk factor using an analytical hierarchy process. The corresponding geographic data were collected, standardized and combined based on a weighted linear combination to produce maps of the suitability for RVF transmission. The accuracy of the resulting maps was assessed using RVF outbreak locations in livestock reported in Kenya and Tanzania between 1998 and 2012 and the ROC curve analysis. Our results confirmed the capacity of the geographic information system-based multi-criteria evaluation method to synthesize available scientific knowledge and to accurately map (AUC = 0.786; 95% CI [0.730-0.842]) the spatial heterogeneity of RVF suitability in East Africa. This approach provides users with a straightforward and easy update of the maps according to data availability or the further development of scientific knowledge.

Strong evidence for the presence of the tick Hyalomma marginatum Koch, 1844 in southern continental France.

Hyalomma ticks can transmit several human and animal pathogens in Eurasia and Africa. Interest in Hyalomma marginatum has increased since the recent (re)emergence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever in the Palearctic region. Until now, continental France has been considered free of this tick species. Nevertheless, the existence of incomplete and occasionally incorrect records has maintained confusion about its status. Based on several tick sampling campaigns conducted on horses and birds from 2007 to 2016, we provided very strong evidence for the presence of reproducing populations of H. marginatum in parts of southern continental France. We also confirmed the introduction of immature developmental stages of H. marginatum, as well as H. rufipes, into France probably through trans-Mediterranean bird migrations.

Added Value of Avian Influenza (H5) Day-Old Chick Vaccination for Disease Control in Egypt.

The immunity profile against H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the commercial poultry value chain network in Egypt was modeled with the use of different vaccination scenarios. The model estimated the vaccination coverage, the protective seroconversion level, and the duration of immunity for each node of the network and vaccination scenario. Partial budget analysis was used to compare the benefit-cost of the different vaccination scenarios. The model predicted that targeting day-old chick avian influenza (AI) vaccination in industrial and large hatcheries would increase immunity levels in the overall poultry population in Egypt and especially in small commercial poultry farms (from <30% to >60%). This strategy was shown to be more efficient than the current strategy of using inactivated vaccines. Improving HPAI control in the commercial poultry sector in Egypt would have a positive impact to improve disease control.