Achievement

Trainee Micah Hahn worked with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) to initiate a village level case control study on Nipah Virus, a disease-causing virus associated with fruit bats (Pteropus). This research is unique because it uses methods from forestry, landscape ecology, and epidemiology to answer questions about an emerging public health issue. Micah trained 30 field staff to carry out the assessment of Pteropus roosting sites in study villages. The assessment included: roost site GPS coordinates, interviews with key informants about roost bat behavior, and ecological data (cataloging tree species, measuring tree height and diameter, and documenting the canopy/sub-canopy classification of each tree within a 20x20 meter plot around the roost center). This type of integrative research will set a precedent for more in-depth and creative infectious disease epidemiology that bridges gaps between human, wildlife, and ecosystem health.