Psychotic Vulnerability in Adolescents With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: First Longitudinal Evidence From a Prospective Pilot Study.

Wild meat plays a vital role in the livelihoods, food security, and cultural practices of many rural communities across tropical and subtropical regions worldwide [–]. In Central Africa, wild animals provide an important source of protein and income, particularly in remote forest regions where alternative livelihood opportunities and domestic livestock production are limited. At the same time, the harvesting, handling, and consumption of wild animals create opportunities for zoonotic pathogen transmission from wildlife to humans []. Research on zoonotic disease risks in wildlife systems has often focused on ecological drivers such as biodiversity loss and land-use change. However, cultural practices, livelihood strategies, and behavioural norms strongly influence how people interact with wildlife and therefore shape patterns of pathogen exposure. Understanding these social and behavioural dimensions is essential for designing disease prevention strategies that are both culturally appropriate and locally feasible. Several zoonotic diseases of wildlife origin have been documented in Cameroon, underscoring the country’s vulnerability to pathogen emergence. Fruit bats are natural reservoirs for filoviruses such as Ebola and Marburg [,], while non-human primates carry simian retroviruses closely related to HIV and other pathogens capable of cross-species transmission [,]. Small mammals, including rodents and civets, are also implicated in bacterial infections such as leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and plague [–]. Human exposure to these pathogens frequently occurs during hunting, butchering, transport, and food preparation, when contact with animal blood, bodily fluids, or contaminated surfaces provides opportunities for transmission. These repeated and close interactions along wild meat value chains make rural Cameroon an important setting for investigating zoonotic disease dynamics and the human behaviours that shape them.