The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is leaving death, fear and disruption in its wake. In Guinea, Liberia and my country of origin, Sierra Leone, the social fabric is unravelling as mistrust, paranoia and uncertainty damage relationships and drive behaviours reminiscent of those during the Black Death. We all hope this epidemic can be contained soon. But will we learn to change the behaviours that directly brought it about? According to the World Health Organization, the Ebola virus enters human populations when people handle or eat infected wildlife, especially fruit bats, chimpanzees, monkeys, forest antelopes and porcupines. Eating bushmeat remains common throughout Africa, either for subsistence or as a luxury. The Ebola outbreak is an opportunity to clamp down on a practice which both causes disease outbreaks and empties forests of wildlife. At a minimum, governments should zealously enforce bans on the hunting and consumption of bats and apes, two groups most commonly associated with Ebola.
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