Can't Stand the Heat?

We arrived at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) in the morning to meet up with our collaborators, including several local veterinarians that will join us in the field to catch bats.  Everyone was extremely friendly and hospitable, and I got the instant sense that this is going to be an excellent field team to work with over the next two weeks.

After a day of meetings we went for a walk in the neighborhood around ICDDR,B to source out some local supplies for field equipment. I purchased rope (by the kilo), metal spikes, mosquito net, local phone card, etc. from vendors that set up shop in a narrow street just adjacent to ICDDR,B. After some walking around in the heat for a couple of hours, we grabbed a few young coconuts to drink from a street vendor. Ah, coconut water! The real stuff, straight from the source, none of this boxed/canned stuff you get in NYC!  Yum!

Later in the afternoon we went to the Forestry Department and met with the conservator of forests. We described our ongoing research on zoonoses in Bangladesh and cleared up some issues with our permits. He was extremely supportive and expressed great interest in our work. He was particularly keen to build up local capacity within the forest/wildlife department to do disease surveillance.

Drinking coconut water with ICDDR,B veterinarians.
Left to right, Jon Epstein, Arif, Hasnat, Shahneaz, and myself 

Reporting from Bangladesh, EcoHealth Alliance scientist Kevin Olival is working on the ecology of Nipah virus and the discovery of pathogens in bats.