Wildlife Trade and Stress in Captivity Drive Ebola Spillover Risk

The current Ebola outbreak (Bundibugyo strain) is spreading from the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Uganda, with no approved vaccine and diagnostics that often miss cases. Experts warn that spillovers are driven by wildlife—from bats to intermediate hosts hunted and traded as bushmeat—where stress and confinement during capture increase transmission between species and to humans. With about 60% of human infections zoonotic and up to 75% of new diseases animal-origin, halting wildlife trade and reducing bushmeat exposure are critical to preventing larger, cross-border outbreaks as mobility accelerates spread.