Environmental change and zoonotic disease risk at human-macaque interfaces in Bangladesh

摘要: Anthropogenic land-use changes increase the frequency of interactions and habitat overlap between humans and macaques which play an important role in zoonotic disease transmission. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to examine connections between land-use change and macaque-human interactions and assess the chance of zoonotic disease transmission. We conducted ethnographic interviews and focus group discussions in Old Dhaka, Madaripur, and Chandpur, Bangladesh. Participants reported significant anthropogenic landscape transformations leading to increased human-macaque contact in the study areas. Participants also reported that all three sites underwent substantial landscape alteration from natural or agricultural land to a human-altered environment with roads, commercial, and residential buildings. Participants noted that the disappearance of forestland appeared to …