The membrane-filter assay, GM1-ELISA, and DNA-DNA hybridization assay, were used to detect enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) in samples of water, weaning food, food preparation surface swabs, fingerprints of mothers, and the fingerprints and stools of children under 5 years of age, in 20 households in a Malaysian village. Weaning food and environmental samples were frequently contaminated by faecal coliforms, including ETEC. The membrane-filter assay detected and enumerated faecal coliforms and LT-ETEC in all types of water and weaning food samples. Highest concentrations of faecal coliforms and LT-ETEC were found in weaning food, followed by well-water, stored water and stored drinking water. The GM1-ELISA detected LT-ETEC in weaning food, food preparation surfaces, fingerprints and stool samples. The DNA-DNA hybridization assay detected a larger proportion of STa2-ETEC than the other toxotypes, either singly or in combination. All the assays in combination detected the presence of ETEC in all types of samples on at least one occasion in each household. It was not possible to classify households as consistently more or less contaminated with ETEC. On individual occasions it was possible to show a significant association of the presence of LT-ETEC between the fingerprints of children and their stools, fingerprints of mothers and children, and weaning food and the stools of the child consuming the food.
Conservation benefits from understanding how adaptability and threat interact to determine a taxon's vulnerability. Recognizing how interactions with humans have shaped taxa such as the critically endangered orangutan (Pongo spp.) offers insights into this relationship. Orangutans are viewed as icons of wild nature, and most efforts to prevent their extinction have focused on protecting minimally disturbed habitat, with limited success. We synthesize fossil, archeological, genetic, and behavioral evidence to demonstrate that at least 70,000 years of human influence have shaped orangutan distribution, abundance, and ecology and will likely continue to do so in the future. Our findings indicate that orangutans are vulnerable to hunting but appear flexible in response to some other human activities. This highlights the need for a multifaceted, landscape-level approach to orangutan conservation that leverages sound policy and cooperation among government, private sector, and community stakeholders to prevent hunting, mitigate human-orangutan conflict, and preserve and reconnect remaining natural forests. Broad cooperation can be encouraged through incentives and strategies that focus on the common interests and concerns of different stakeholders. Orangutans provide an illustrative example of how acknowledging the long and pervasive influence of humans can improve strategies to preserve biodiversity in the Anthropocene.