Ebola spillover correlates with bat diversity

Abstract

Some of the world’s deadliest diseases and greatest public health challenges are zoonoses from wildlife, such as Ebola (Ebolavirus). Due to the increasing number of cases in recent years, it has been widely hypothesized that increasing human population densities and anthropogenic disturbance largely explain outbreaks of Ebola virus disease in humans. While studies indicate that ebolaviruses are likely hosted by bats (Chiroptera), their role in outbreaks of the disease remains unclear. We tested whether bat species richness (total and within families), human population density, and anthropogenic disturbance explained the occurrence of Ebola virus disease spillovers within Africa using both generalized linear models and Maxent models. We demonstrate that spillover occurred in areas with high species richness of nycterid bats and low levels of both anthropogenic disturbance and human population density. Outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have devastating effects on people and communities and our results provide an important step toward understanding how and where Ebola virus disease may spill over to human populations.