Participation of women and children in hunting activities in Sierra Leone and implications for control of zoonotic infections

Bonwitt, J.; Kandeh, M.; Dawson, M.; Ansumana, R.; Sahr, F.; Kelly, A.H.; Brown, H.

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005699

Participation of women and children in hunting activities in Sierra Leone and implications for control of zoonotic infections

Bonwitt, J.; Kandeh, M.; Dawson, M.; Ansumana, R.; Sahr, F.; Kelly, A.H.; Brown, H.

Authors

Dr Jesse Bonwitt jesse.bonwitt@durham.ac.uk
Honorary Associate

M. Kandeh

M. Dawson

R. Ansumana

F. Sahr

A.H. Kelly

Professor Hannah Brown hannah.brown@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

The emergence of infectious diseases of zoonotic origin highlights the need to understand social practices at the animal-human interface. This study provides a qualitative account of interactions between humans and wild animals in predominantly Mende villages of southern Sierra Leone. We conducted fieldwork over 4 months including participant and direct observations, semi-structured interviews (n = 47), spontaneously occurring focus group discussions (n = 12), school essays and informal interviews to describe behaviours that may serve as pathways for zoonotic infection. In this region, hunting is the primary form of contact with wild animals. We describe how these interactions are shaped by socio-cultural contexts, including opportunities to access economic resources and by social obligations and constraints. Our research suggests that the potential for exposure to zoonotic pathogens is more widely distributed across different age, gender and social groups than previously appreciated. We highlight the role of children in hunting, an age group that has previously not been discussed in the context of hunting. The breadth of the "at risk" population forces reconsideration of how we conceptualize, trace and monitor pathogen exposure.

Citation

Bonwitt, J., Kandeh, M., Dawson, M., Ansumana, R., Sahr, F., Kelly, A., & Brown, H. (2017). Participation of women and children in hunting activities in Sierra Leone and implications for control of zoonotic infections. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(7), Article e0005699. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005699

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jun 10, 2017
Online Publication Date	Jul 27, 2017
Publication Date	Jul 27, 2017
Deposit Date	Jun 14, 2017
Publicly Available Date	Jun 15, 2017
Journal	PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Print ISSN	1935-2727
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	11
Issue	7
Article Number	e0005699
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005699

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Copyright Statement
© 2017 Bonwitt et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.