Shadowlands and dark corners

Viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) persist in darkness. The pathogenicity of viruses like Lassa, Marburg, and Ebola is partly explained by their ability to survive on surfaces outside their infected hosts, provided they are not exposed to heat, disinfecting chemicals, or ultraviolet light. Taking these basic virological insights as our starting point, we seek to elaborate ethnographically the links between disease transmission and gradations of luminosity. An interdisciplinary research project into the control of Lassa fever in West Africa provided the empirical prompt for this article, which we then extended through our experience working in the region during the 2014–2016 Ebola virus outbreak. The spectral dimensions of zoonotic exchange and the apprehensions they engender help us come to grips with the complex interface of viral biology and human-animal sociality, and, we suggest, add nuance to global health framings of disease transmission and control

Extending the ‘social’: Anthropological contributions to the study of viral haemorrhagic fevers

Anthropology and the One-Health Agenda for VHF Emerging Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (VHFs) offer a frontier for a “One-Health ” research agenda; the joined-up, or collaborative, effort of multiple disciplines to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment (e.g.

Las mujeres fulbe entre encrucijadas y cambios. Pulaaku, agencia corporal, reproducción y sexualidad

Tesis Univ. Granada. Departamento de Antropología Social. Leída el 24 de febrero de 201

Nosotras parimos ¿Nosotras decidimos en la atención sanitaria embarazo, parto y puerperio? (Maribel Blázquez Rodríguez)

Nosotras Parimos ¿Nosotras decidimos en la atención sanitaria al embarazo, parto y puerperio?, es la publicación de la investigación que María Isabel Blázquez Rodríguez realizó para su tesis doctoral1, la cual fue premiada con el Premio de Investigación Victoria Kent que convoca el Seminario de Estudios Interdisciplinarios de la Mujer de la Universidad de Málaga, en su edición de 2009

Ebola separations: trust, crisis, and ‘social distancing’ in West Africa

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa involved the introduction of new forms of social and physical separation that aimed to curtail the spread of the disease. People changed the ways they lived to avoid contact with those who might be sick. A suite of governmental instruments was introduced, ranging from by‐laws and public health campaigns to the use of specialist treatment centres and military force. These events transformed social connections and affected possibilities for trust in intimate, governmental, and therapeutic relations. Drawing upon fieldwork in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, this article explores these forms of separation and social distance ethnographically, with a focus on material objects, touch, and spaces of separation. In doing so, we contribute to discussions on the constitution of trust and distance within social relations, and the ways in which separation can enable certain kinds of closeness. Our analysis offers insights for those seeking to understand the impact of the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic on the ways that people relate to, and care for, others

Hunting and consumption of rodents by children in the Lassa fever endemic area of Faranah, Guinea.

As a consequence of the Ebola outbreak, human-animal contact has gained importance for zoonotic transmission surveillance. In Faranah (Upper Guinea), daily life is intertwined with rodents, such as the Natal multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis; a reservoir for Lassa virus (LASV). However, this contact is rarely perceived as a health risk by residents, although Lassa fever (LF) is known to be endemic to this region. Conversely, these observations remain a great concern for global health agendas. Drawing on ethnographic research involving interviews, focus group discussions, participant observations, and informal discussions over four months, we first identified factors that motivated children to hunt and consume rodents in Faranah villages, and thereafter, explored the knowledge of LF infection in children and their parents. Furthermore, we studied two dimensions of human-rodent encounters: 1) space-time of interaction and 2) factors that allowed the interaction to occur and their materiality. This approach allowed us to contextualize child-rodent contacts beyond domestic limits in the fallow fields, swamps, and at other times for this practice. A close look at these encounters provided information on rodent trapping, killing, and manipulation of cooking techniques and the risk these activities posed for the primary transmission of LASV. This research facilitated the understanding of children's exposure to M. natalensis during hunting sessions and the importance of rodent hunting, which is a part of their boyish identity in rural areas. Determination of when, where, why, and how children, rodents, and environments interacted allowed us to understand the exposures and risks important for human and animal surveillance programs in the Lassa-endemic region

Correction: Hunting and consumption of rodents by children in the Lassa fever endemic area of Faranah, Guinea.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009212.]

The Plasma Mobile, 'A gift from heaven': The impact of health technology transfer on trial perceptions and expectations during the Ebola-Tx Trial, Conakry.

During the West African Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic from 2014 to 2016, a variety of technologies travelled considering the context of the emergency: a highly contagious fast-killing disease outbreak with no known remedy and a rapidly increasing number of cases. The Ebola-Tx clinical trial tested the efficacy of Convalescent Plasma (CP) as a treatment for EVD in Guinea. This paper is based on ethnographic research in the Ebola-Tx trial and focuses on the introduction of a mobile plasma collection centre, referred to as the 'Plasma Mobile', equipped with plasmapheresis and pathogen inactivation technologies, as well as how the transfer itself of this technology entailed complex effects on CP donors as trial participants (i.e. providers of the therapeutic product), directly involved staff and more broadly on the trial implementation as a whole. The transfer led to the emergence of a dimension of hope as CP donors hoped that the plasma would cure and, as providers of the therapeutic, hoped it would decrease their stigmatization and the economic impact of the disease. We conclude that, in light of the intricate effects that the transfer of such health technology can entail-in the localization to the specific context, as well as in the consequences they can have on actors involved in the implementation of such technologies-global health technologies should be put at the services of next epidemic and pandemic (preparedness) on condition that they are accompanied by an understanding of the technologies' own cultural meanings and social understandings