Seth Judson, MD

Ebolavirus Spillover

Ebolaviruses are sporadically transmitted from their natural reservoir hosts to humans and other wildlife. These episodes of transmission are known as “spillover events,” and identifying the locations and settings of these events may help us mitigate outbreaks and understand where these pathogens circulate in nature.

We determined that spillover events of different species of ebolaviruses are associated with different environmental conditions. Using predictive models, we identified suitable habitats for spillover of Zaire ebolavirus and Sudan ebolavirus. Locations of these spillover events are shown below and more details about these index cases can be found in our publication "Ecological Contexts of Index Cases and Spillover Events of Different Ebolaviruses."

Related publications:

Judson SD, Fischer R, Judson A, Munster VJ (2016). Ecological Contexts of Index Cases and Spillover Events of Different Ebolaviruses. PLoS Pathog 12(8): e1005780. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005780

Bartonella in Bats and Bat Flies

Bartonella bacteria are regarded as "stealth" zoonotic pathogens; bartonellae infect many different mammals and are often transmitted by insect vectors. We found that Bartonella bacteria infect both Costa Rican bats and their ectoparasitic bat flies, which live on the fur and wings of bats. Sometimes humans can incidentally become infected with bartonellae through a scratch or bite from an infected animal host. Therefore, bats and bat flies could harbor bartonellae that influence human and animal health.

Related publications:

Judson, S. D., Frank, H. K., & Hadly, E. A. (2015). Bartonellae are Prevalent and Diverse in Costa Rican Bats and Bat Flies. Zoonoses and Public Health. doi: 10.1111/zph.12188.

Frank HK, Mendenhall CD, Judson SD, Daily GC, Hadly EA. Anthropogenic impacts on Costa Rican bat parasitism are sex specific. Ecology and Evolution. 2016 Jul 1;6(14):4898-909.