Future research needs
Although our results align with many of the recognized geographic hotspots and taxonomic risks, our study shows that reports on human-wildlife interactions are lacking for certain geographic regions and taxonomic groups that are important for zoonotic disease risk. Our search found minimal publications reporting human-wildlife interactions in northern Africa, northern South America, central Asia, and southwestern Asia. While some of these may be due to few human-wildlife interactions, such as northern Africa where the Sahara Desert predominates, other areas have been implicated in disease emergence events (Han et al. 2016). For example, the bubonic plague-causing bacterium, Yersinia pestis , most likely emerged from the steppes of central Asia in modern-day Kyrgyzstan several hundred years ago (Spyrou et al. 2022). More recently, Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) emerged simultaneously in several countries within southwestern Asia (Raj et al. 2014). While less commonly reported than other parts of the world, EID outbreaks are known to occur in these regions, and our results show that these areas may suffer from research bias and warrant targeted investigation of human-wildlife interactions (Jones et al. 2008). Additionally, the concentrated effects of LUC, human population growth, and climate change are altering the landscapes of these regions, and likely increase opportunities for human-wildlife interactions in rapidly changing environments (Naboureh et al. 2020, Zittis et al. 2022).
While further research on better-known mammalian orders will continue to be beneficial, increased pathogen surveillance efforts on underrepresented orders that commonly interact with humans in areas of LUC, such as carnivores and even-toed ungulates, are particularly warranted. In contrast, of the many wildlife orders reported to have interactions with humans and domesticated animals that are focal taxa for zoonotic disease research (Olival et al. 2017), bats (order: Chiroptera), which carry numerous zoonotic pathogens, are infrequently reported in the literature compared to other mammalian orders. This trend likely demonstrates a reporting bias and highlights the need for hypothesis-driven research to understand the nuances of interactions between bats, humans, and domestic animals, especially within a disease transmission framework. Understanding the frequency, types of interactions, and location of these interactions is integral to developing zoonotic disease transmission models for numerous bat-borne zoonotic pathogens, as well as mitigating human-bat conflict and cross species pathogen transmission (Plowright et al. 2017, Plowright and Hudson 2021).
Birds and reptiles were commonly documented interacting with humans and domestic animals, most often through indirect and direct contact, respectively. Such interactions are opportunities for zoonotic pathogen spillover and warrant efforts to understand the zoonotic disease potential of these taxa. Zoonotic pathogen exposure potential from birds is high given their proximity to humans and poultry livestock and their heavy use of human-dominated landscapes, which is reflected in our results and previous literature (Webster et al. 1992, Marzluff 2001, Gilbert et al. 2008, Phillippon et al. 2020). Reptiles, on the other hand, often host bacteria and parasites with zoonotic potential, requiring ingestion to be transmitted to humans (Harris et al. 2009, Patrick et al. 2013, Cantlay et al. 2017). Therefore, reptiles most likely pose disease risks through direct interactions, like human consumption, which was the most common type of human-reptile interaction found in our study (Wang et al. 2011, Cantlay et al. 2017, Perez-Flores et al. 2017, Yudhana et al. 2019). With human population growth a key driver of LUC, it seems likely that pressure on reptiles as a food source will continue to grow, facilitating increased reptile-borne food illnesses (Broglia and Kapel 2011, Martin et al. 2021). Further scrutiny of zoonotic pathogens hosted by reptiles is needed to understand the dangers of these increased interactions.
Ultimately, our study provides a unique summary of human-wildlife interactions occurring in areas of LUC and evaluates their potential for zoonotic disease spillover. The information from this scoping review provides evidence that interactions with multiple orders of wildlife in areas of agriculturalization, especially in Africa and Asia, are commonly reported across the literature and warrant efforts to mitigate exposure. Further, wildlife species within Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Primates, and Rodentia are frequently reported interacting with humans and domestic animals and require additional and continued scrutiny as hosts for zoonotic pathogens. There are also noticeable gaps in reported human-wildlife interactions, largely in areas of northern Africa, northern South America, central Asia, and southwestern Asia. The history of zoonotic disease emergence, increasing human populations, and rates of LUC in these regions necessitates further research. Lastly, taxa known to pose risks for zoonotic disease transmission, like bats, require more research focus to understand the nature of their interactions with humans. Information provided by closing these gaps will inevitably benefit efforts to predict and mitigate the emergence of zoonotic diseases in human populations.
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Matthew Moran and Dr. Devin Jones for assistance developing the search strategy and data extraction methods, respectively. We thank Dr. Ellery Lassiter for assistance with statistical analysis. This research was supported by the Arkansas Biosciences Institute and NSF DEB 1911925.
Author Contributions
RTJ, TJL, and KMF formulated the review idea. RTJ, MRM, and KMF developed the search strategy. RTJ performed the literature search and data extraction. RTJ, TLJ, and NM performed data analysis. RTJ wrote the original draft. All co-authors contributed to editing, approved the final version, and agree to be held accountable for the work.
Data Accessibility
All data will be made accessible on Dryad pending acceptance for publication.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
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