IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v129y2015icp20-27.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The puzzle of Buruli ulcer transmission, ethno-ecological history and the end of “love” in the Akonolinga district, Cameroon

Author

Listed:
  • Giles-Vernick, Tamara
  • Owona-Ntsama, Joseph
  • Landier, Jordi
  • Eyangoh, Sara

Abstract

The “One World One Health Initiative” has attended little to the priorities, concepts and practices of resource-poor communities confronting disease and the implications of these concerns for its biomedical, ecological and institutional approach to disease surveillance and control. Using the example of Buruli ulcer (BU) and its bacterial etiology, Mycobacterium ulcerans, in south-central Cameroon, we build on debates about the contributions of “local knowledge” and “alternative models” to biomedical knowledge of disease transmission. BU's mode of transmission remains poorly understood. Our approach employs ethno-ecological histories – local understandings of the putative emergence and expansion of a locally important, neglected disease. We develop these histories from 52 individual and small group interviews, group discussions, and participant-observation of daily and seasonal activities, conducted in 2013–2013. These histories offer important clues about past environmental and social change that should guide further ecological, epidemiological research. They highlight a key historical moment (the late 1980s and 1990s); specific ecological transformations; new cultivation practices in unexploited zones that potentially increased exposure to M. ulcerans; and ecological degradation that may have lowered nutritional standards and heightened susceptibility to BU. They also recast transmission, broadening insight into BU and its local analog, atom, by emphasizing the role of social change and economic crisis in its emergence and expansion.

Suggested Citation

  • Giles-Vernick, Tamara & Owona-Ntsama, Joseph & Landier, Jordi & Eyangoh, Sara, 2015. "The puzzle of Buruli ulcer transmission, ethno-ecological history and the end of “love” in the Akonolinga district, Cameroon," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 20-27.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:129:y:2015:i:c:p:20-27
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614001695
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.008?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arun Agrawal, 1995. "Dismantling the Divide Between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 26(3), pages 413-439, July.
    2. Sunderlin, William D & Pokam, Jacques, 2002. "Economic Crisis and Forest Cover Change in Cameroon: The Roles of Migration, Crop Diversification, and Gender Division of Labor," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(3), pages 581-606, April.
    3. Koen Peeters Grietens & Elizabeth Toomer & Alphonse Um Boock & Susanna Hausmann-Muela & Hans Peeters & Kirezi Kanobana & Charlotte Gryseels & Joan Muela Ribera, 2012. "What Role Do Traditional Beliefs Play in Treatment Seeking and Delay for Buruli Ulcer Disease?–Insights from a Mixed Methods Study in Cameroon," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-8, May.
    4. Leach, Melissa & Scoones, Ian, 2013. "The social and political lives of zoonotic disease models: Narratives, science and policy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 10-17.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tschakert, Petra & Ricciardi, Vincent & Smithwick, Erica & Machado, Mario & Ferring, David & Hausermann, Heidi & Bug, Leah, 2016. "Situated knowledge of pathogenic landscapes in Ghana: Understanding the emergence of Buruli ulcer through qualitative analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 160-171.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Piers Blaikie, 2000. "Development, Post-, Anti-, and Populist: A Critical Review," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(6), pages 1033-1050, June.
    2. Arts, Bas & de Koning, Jessica, 2017. "Community Forest Management: An Assessment and Explanation of its Performance Through QCA," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 315-325.
    3. Priya Gupta, 2021. "Conservation is Development in the Forests of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, India," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 16(1), pages 54-74, April.
    4. Christian Kuhlicke, 2010. "The dynamics of vulnerability: some preliminary thoughts about the occurrence of ‘radical surprises’ and a case study on the 2002 flood (Germany)," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 55(3), pages 671-688, December.
    5. Jarvis, Diane & Stoeckl, Natalie & Larson, Silva & Grainger, Daniel & Addison, Jane & Larson, Anna, 2021. "The Learning Generated Through Indigenous Natural Resources Management Programs Increases Quality of Life for Indigenous People – Improving Numerous Contributors to Wellbeing," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    6. Jude L. Fernando, 2003. "NGOs and Production of Indigenous Knowledge Under the Condition of Postmodernity," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 590(1), pages 54-72, November.
    7. Elizabeth Carabine & Emily Wilkinson, 2016. "How Can Local Governance Systems Strengthen Community Resilience? A Social-Ecological Systems Approach," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 62-73.
    8. Brush, Stephen B., 2007. "Farmers' Rights and Protection of Traditional Agricultural Knowledge," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 1499-1514, September.
    9. Elisabeth Hettig & Jann Lay & Kacana Sipangule, 2016. "Drivers of Households’ Land-Use Decisions: A Critical Review of Micro-Level Studies in Tropical Regions," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-32, October.
    10. Jonathan Rosenberg, 2020. "Adaptation, Official Development Assistance, and Institution Building: The Case of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-26, May.
    11. Alarape, A. A. Ph.D & Obadiora, A. J. Ph.D & Omoba, F. A. Ph.D, 2021. "The Future of Yoruba Indigeneous Knowledge: Acquisition, Preservation and Transmission," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(5), pages 521-529, May.
    12. Marius Chevallier & Julien Dellier & Gaël Plumecocq & Frédéric Richard, 2014. "Dynamiques et structuration des circuits courts agroalimentaires en Limousin : distance institutionnelle, proximités spatiale et relationnelle," Géographie, économie, société, Lavoisier, vol. 16(3), pages 339-362.
    13. Wallace, Matthew L. & Ràfols, Ismael, 2018. "Institutional shaping of research priorities: A case study on avian influenza," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10), pages 1975-1989.
    14. Krishna Malakar & Trupti Mishra & Anand Patwardhan, 2018. "Drivers of response to extreme weather warnings among marine fishermen," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 417-431, October.
    15. Claudia Matus & Pascale Bussenius & Pablo Herraz & Valentina Riberi & Manuel Prieto, 2021. "Nature Is for Trees, Culture Is for Humans: A Critical Reading of the IPCC Report," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-9, October.
    16. Sherry, Emma & Schulenkorf, Nico & Seal, Emma & Nicholson, Matthew & Hoye, Russell, 2017. "Sport-for-development: Inclusive, reflexive, and meaningful research in low- and middle-income settings," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 69-80.
    17. Bardosh, Kevin & Inthavong, Phouth & Xayaheuang, Sivilai & Okello, Anna L., 2014. "Controlling parasites, understanding practices: The biosocial complexity of a One Health intervention for neglected zoonotic helminths in northern Lao PDR," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 215-223.
    18. Khan, Abdul Razzaq & Khan, Abuturab & Razzaq, Sadia, 2013. "Conceptualizing Local Knowledge and Disaster Management," MPRA Paper 63355, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Jan 2015.
    19. Esther Turnhout & Katja Neves & Elisa de Lijster, 2014. "‘Measurementality’ in Biodiversity Governance: Knowledge, Transparency, and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Ipbes)," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(3), pages 581-597, March.
    20. Sastoque, Marlon Javier Méndez, 2022. "Towards a living agriculture: extension of the notion of agriculture among rural extension agents based on a comprehensive approach to indigenous knowledge in Caldas, Colombia," Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural (RESR), Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural, vol. 60(3), January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:129:y:2015:i:c:p:20-27. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.