Rabies, a multi-host pathogen responsible for the loss of roughly 59,000 human lives each year worldwide, continues to impose a significant burden of disease despite control efforts, especially in Ethiopia. However, how species other than dogs contribute to rabies transmission throughout Ethiopia remains largely unknown. In this study, we quantified interactions among wildlife species in Ethiopia with the greatest potential for contributing to rabies maintenance. We observed wildlife at supplemental scavenging sites across multiple landscape types and quantified transmission potential. More specifically, we used camera trap data to quantify species abundance, species distribution, and intra- and inter-species contacts per trapping night over time and by location. We derived a mathematical expression for the basic reproductive number (R₀) based on within- and between-species contract rates by applying the next generation method to the susceptible, exposed, infectious, removed model. We calculated R₀ for transmission within each species and between each pair of species using camera trap data in order to identify pairwise interactions that contributed the most to transmission in an ecological community. We estimated which species, or species pairs, could maintain transmission () and which species, or species pairs, had contact rates too low for maintenance (). Our results identified multiple urban carnivores as candidate species for rabies maintenance throughout Ethiopia, with hyenas exhibiting the greatest risk for rabies maintenance through intra-species transmission. Hyenas and cats had the greatest risk for rabies maintenance through inter-species transmission. Urban and peri-urban sites posed the greatest risk for rabies transmission. The night-time hours presented the greatest risk for a contact event that could result in rabies transmission. Overall, both intra- and inter-species contacts posed risk for rabies maintenance. Our results can be used to target future studies and inform population management decisions.

中文翻译：

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量化埃塞俄比亚补充喂养点的种内和种间接触率，以了解多种宿主物种的狂犬病维持潜力

狂犬病是一种多宿主病原体，每年在全世界造成约 59,000 人丧生，尽管采取了控制措施，但仍继续造成重大疾病负担，尤其是在埃塞俄比亚。然而，除狗以外的其他物种如何在整个埃塞俄比亚传播狂犬病，在很大程度上仍不为人知。在这项研究中，我们量化了埃塞俄比亚最有可能促进狂犬病维持的野生动物物种之间的相互作用。我们在多种景观类型的补充清除地点观察了野生动物，并量化了传播潜力。更具体地说，我们使用相机陷阱数据来量化物种丰度、物种分布以及每个诱捕夜随时间和地点的物种内和物种间接触。我们推导出基本再生数的数学表达式（R ₀ ) 基于物种内和物种间的合同率，将下一代方法应用于易感、暴露、传染、移除的模型。我们使用相机陷阱数据计算了每个物种内和每对物种之间的传播R ₀，以便识别对生态群落中传播贡献最大的成对相互作用。我们估计了哪些物种或物种对可以维持传播（）以及哪些物种或物种对的接触率太低而无法维持（). 我们的研究结果将多种城市食肉动物确定为整个埃塞俄比亚维持狂犬病的候选物种，其中鬣狗表现出通过种内传播维持狂犬病的最大风险。鬣狗和猫通过种间传播维持狂犬病的风险最大。城市和城郊地区传播狂犬病的风险最大。夜间时间是可能导致狂犬病传播的接触事件的最大风险。总体而言，种内和种间接触都存在狂犬病维持的风险。我们的结果可用于针对未来的研究并为人口管理决策提供信息。