title: Rat-atouille: A Mixed Method Study to Characterize Rodent Hunting and Consumption in the Context of Lassa Fever.
abstract: Lassa fever is a zoonotic hemorrhagic illness predominant in areas across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and southern Mali. The reservoir of Lassa virus is the multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis), a highly commensal species in West Africa. Primary transmission to humans occurs through direct or indirect contact with rodent body fluids such as urine, feces, saliva, or blood. Our research draws together qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a fuller and more nuanced perspective on these varied points of human-animal contact. In this article, we focus on the hunting, preparation, and consumption of rodents as possible routes of exposure in Bo, Sierra Leone. We found that the consumption of rodents, including the reservoir species, is widespread and does not neatly tally against generational or gender lines. Further, we found that the reasons for rodent consumption are multifactorial, including taste preferences, food security, and opportunistic behavior. We argue that on certain topics, such as rodent consumption, establishing trust with communities, and using qualitative research methods, is key to investigate sensitive issues and situate them in their wider context. To conclude, we recommend ways to refine sensitization campaigns to account for these socio-cultural contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Durham, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. jesse.bonwitt@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bonwitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.|London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ann H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Mercy Hospital Research Laboratory, Bo, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Rashid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ansumana
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Unit, Fajara, Gambia.
authors.forename: Schadrac
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agbla
authors.affiliation: University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Foday
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sahr
authors.affiliation: Institute for Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Almudena Mari
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Saez
authors.affiliation: Institute for Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borchert
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Pathogen Biology, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kock
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Bernhard-Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fichet-Calvet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007835:Lassa Fever / Q000635:transmission*; D007836:Lassa virus; D007988:Liberia; D051379:Mice; D051189:Murinae; D051381:Rats; D012807:Sierra Leone
keywords: Lassa fever; Mastomys natalensis; consumption; human–rodent interaction; hunting; mixed method