New UN report outlines ways to curb growing spread of animal-to-human diseases
Global perspective
Human storiesNew UN report outlines ways to curb growing spread of animal-to-human diseases
Researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) work to control bird flu in Indonesia.
6 July 2020
As the battle against COVID-19 rages, the world can expect to see other diseases that pass from animals to humans emerge, according to a new UN report launched on Monday, which maintains that there is still time to head off potential zoonotic pandemics.
Preventing the Next Pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission identifies seven trends driving the increasing emergence of zoonotic diseases, including a growing demand for animal protein, unsustainable farming practices and the global climate crisis.
It also sets out 10 practical steps that nations can take right now, including expanded research into zoonotic diseases, improved monitoring and regulation of food systems, and incentivizing sustainable land management practices.
In particular, the report recommends that governments adopt a “One Health” approach that brings together public health, veterinary and environmental expertise to prevent and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks.
Preventing the Next Pandemic is a joint effort by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), both based in Nairobi.
Zoonoses Day
The report was published on World Zoonoses Day, which commemorates the work of French biologist Louis Pasteur who, on 6 July 1885, successfully administered the first vaccine against the zoonotic disease rabies on a nine-year-old boy who had been badly mauled by a dog.
“The science is clear that if we keep exploiting wildlife and destroying our ecosystems, then we can expect to see a steady stream of these diseases jumping from animals to humans in the years ahead,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
“Pandemics are devastating to our lives and our economies, and as we have seen over the past months, it is the poorest and the most vulnerable who suffer the most,” she added. “To prevent future outbreaks, we must become much more deliberate about protecting our natural environment.”
COVID-19, latest in line
As the report explains, COVID-19 is only the latest in a growing number of disease, which – including Ebola, MERS and West Nile fever – whose spread from animal hosts into human populations has been intensified by anthropogenic pressures, or human impact on the environment.
Excluding the spiraling cost of the coronavirus pandemic that has so far claimed more than 500,000 lives – every year some two million individuals, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, die from neglected zoonotic diseases.
Tackling outbreaks
While zoonotic diseases are on the rise worldwide, Africa has the potential to leverage its experience to tackle future outbreaks through approaches that incorporate human, animal and environmental health, according to the report .
“The situation on the continent today is ripe for intensifying existing zoonotic diseases and facilitating the emergence and spread of new ones,” said ILRI Director-General Jimmy Smith. “But with their experiences with Ebola and other emerging diseases, African countries are demonstrating proactive ways to manage disease outbreaks”.
UN chief weighs in
Welcoming the report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Monday for a new ambitious framework to protect and sustainably use biodiversity to be adopted.
“To prevent future outbreaks, countries need to conserve wild habitats, promote sustainable agriculture, strengthen food safety standards, monitor and regulate food markets, invest in technology to identify risks, and curb the illegal trade in wildlife,” he said.
A researcher from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) collects serum samples from sheep in Horro, Ethiopia.
Herpes is a sexually transmitted virus that primarily infects the mouth and the genitals. It is transmitted by bodily fluids – penetration isn’t required for transmission, oral-oral or oral-genital contact will suffice.I WAS ONCE HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS patient, I have HSV-I genitally and I'm one of the rare cases where I was infected by sexual contact. The person who infected me was unaware that he had it, and he tested negative on a blood test (he probably got it from his mother at birth and never had an outbreak in his life).I'm sure I have HSV-I (they did a culture of the fluid from the sores i had during my initial outbreak). So it is possible to contract HSV-I by asymptomatic asexual contact, so please people talk about this and prevent anyone else from getting it, I'm kind of going through something. Four years ago my love and I both had an OB and when I got the blood work done it came back negative. We were happy in the relationship so I learned to accept it and never really bothered to get tested again. Now, that we broke up I decided to get tested again. I came back negative for both HSV-1 and HSV-2 (got the news!) and have not had an OB since the initial one four years ago. My X on the other hand has had a few small outbreaks and never came back positive for HSV-1.Only the help of Dr Afrid where able to help me out with is Root and Herbs, if you are having any type of this disease or infection like HIV,CANCER OR ANY disease kindly email doctor Afrid for cure:( drafridherbalhome@gmail.com ) or Whatsapp him on +2349057260738.
ReplyDelete