James L. N. Wood,1 Andrew A. Cunningham,2 Richard D. Suu-Ire,3 Freya L. Jephcott,1,4 and Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu5
1Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
2Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
3Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, Accra, Ghana
4Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
5Centre for African Wetlands, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
At the time of writing, West Africa is still dealing with the worst known Ebola epidemic. Quite rightly, the international focus has been on reducing the transmission rate of this disease until it is eradicated from the human population. Once the epidemic curve has declined to this point, scientific attention should be re-directed to the prevention of future zoonotic outbreaks. There already has been much written on how the West African epidemic might have been sparked, but speculation often has been presented as fact and in some cases has been contrary to available evidence. Such inaccurate reporting on the drivers of the emergence of this epidemic is unfortunate, as this can influence policy decisions while failing to identify how Ebola and other serious zoonoses should be controlled.
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