title: Date palm sap collection: exploring opportunities to prevent Nipah transmission.
abstract: Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a seasonal disease in Bangladesh that coincides with the date palm sap collection season. Raw date palm sap is a delicacy to drink in Bengali culture. If fruit bats that are infected with NiV gain access to the sap for drinking, they might occasionally contaminate the sap through saliva and urine. In February 2007, we conducted a qualitative study in six villages, interviewing 27 date palm sap collectors (gachhis) within the geographical area where NiV outbreaks have occurred since 2001. Gachhis reported that bats pose a challenge to successful collection of quality sap, because bats drink and defecate into the sap which markedly reduces its value. They know some methods to prevent access by bats and other pests but do not use them consistently, because of lack of time and resources. Further studies to explore the effectiveness of these methods and to motivate gachhis to invest their time and money to use them could reduce the risk of human Nipah infection in Bangladesh.
authors.affiliation: Programme on Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Sciences (PIDVS), Health Systems and Infectious Diseases Division (HSID), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. nahar.nazmun@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Nazmun
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nahar
authors.forename: Rebeca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sultana
authors.forename: Emily S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Gurley
authors.forename: M Jahangir
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Luby
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D028023:Arecaceae / Q000821:virology*; D001459:Bangladesh; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D045464:Henipavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045405:Nipah Virus; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000009:adverse effects; D055815:Young Adult; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts