Compiled by Kris Hickman, with Bara Vaida
The next big thing in global health doesn’t get much attention.
Zoonotic diseases, or zoonoses, spread from vertebrate animals to human beings from viruses, bacteria, fungi, or other communicable agents, and scientists estimate 75 percent of new emerging infectious diseases will be zoonotic in origin. Humans and animals have a close relationship on an increasingly crowded planet, and this means zoonoses will be the diseases to watch in the near future.
But most people haven’t heard of zoonotic diseases, and most journalists haven’t covered them. In fact, these infectious diseases rarely make headlines or the nightly news until human-to-human transmission reaches potential pandemic proportions.
Think Ebola, SARS, or the various strains of swine flu and bird flu. These big-name diseases have been associated with high-profile outbreaks in the last couple decades, and – surprise – are zoonotic in origin. (See this tip sheet on global emerging diseases for more information.)
Some of these are especially gruesome (Ebola, Marburg, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever), and have been the subject of sensational media coverage. This leaves some journalists wondering how to report on zoonotic diseases and emerging infectious diseases without inflaming panic.
Fortunately, most zoonotic diseases will not become pandemics, so the real story becomes about prevention, research and ecological surveillance programs. Around the world, epidemiologists, veterinarians, research scientists and government officials work together with local farmers and animal handlers to understand the spread of disease from animals to humans.
The following terms and resources offer context on future zoonotic-related outbreaks and how global partnerships can make prevention possible:
One Health: This initiative emphasizes the interdependent natures of ecosystems, human health, and animal health. The idea has been around since the early 1900s, but was only recently implemented as a collaborative approach to global public health.
Veterinary public health (VPH): According to WHO, it is an “essential part of public health”. VPH researchers look at the connection between human health, animal health, and food production, and they help to implement the “One Health” concept when they work with farmers, government organizations, or policy makers to prevent the spread of zoonotic disease.
HAI or HAEI: Human-Animal Interface, or Human-Animal Ecological Interface. These acronyms pop up often in the discussion on zoonotic disease prevention and surveillance. Disease can flourish where humans and animals interact, so various organizations use the “One Health” concept to study zoonotic diseases where they occur and anticipate the next outbreak. These partnerships can be local or international in scale. For example, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is part of a tripartite collaboration on zoonotic disease response with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Global Early Warning System (GLEWS): The WHO, OIE, and FAO use this system to track and assess human health threats of zoonoses at the human-animal ecological interface.
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE): OIE’s mission is to improve animal health and study zoonotic disease. OIE contributes to the tripartite collaboration by collecting and analyzing data on animal disease control, food safety, and other outcomes related to veterinary public health.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): FAO focuses on food security and agricultural sustainability. It also helps governments and communities cope with crises like zoonotic disease threats.
The National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID): This arm of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is actively involved in disease prevention and detection. Browse for info by state and subject, or check out NCEZID’s infographics, animations and videos.
Spillover: When an animal pathogen transmits to humans. In his 2012 book “Spillover,” National Geographic contributor and science journalist David Quammen writes in-depth about the potential for the next pandemic to arise from animals.
The Global Virome Project: This global project proposal seeks international funding to sequence all viruses that may present a risk of pandemic following a spillover event. Most pandemics in recent years have been both viral and zoonotic. Since viruses must be sequenced before a vaccine can be made, proponents of this project see it as a major step toward ending pandemics.
EcoHealth Alliance: A global environmental health organization funding research into where pathogens are spreading from animals to humans around the globe.
U.S. Agency for International Development Emerging Pandemic Threats programs – The USAID, working in partnership with the University of California, Davis One Health Institute, EcoHealth Alliance and several non-profits has been enabling global surveillance of zoonoses by funding research and training of public health authorities in 20 countries to detect and discover viruses with pandemic potential.
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations – Launched in early 2017 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and six countries, including Japan and Norway, aims to find vaccines for the zoonotic diseases with pandemic potential that most worry the global public health community.
ProMED-mail: This Internet-based network was founded in 1994 by a group of infectious disease physicians who aimed to monitor emerging and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks worldwide. Currently the network operates under the auspices of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
Recent coverage
- Salon – “Study: The Next Pandemic May Come From Bats,” (June 2017)
- The Atlantic – “How the World Can Prepare For the Next Pandemic,” (June 2017)
- New York Times – “Stopping Pandemics Before They Start,” (June 2017)
- Time – “The World Is Not Ready for The Next Pandemic,” (May 2017)
- UnDark – “The Virus Hunters,” (May 2017)
- Smithsonian.com – “Can Saving Animals Prevent the Next Pandemic?” (May 2017)
- Stat – “Finding the World’s Unknown Viruses – Before They Find Us,” (December 2016)
- AHCJ – “Journalists Learn Tips for Covering Emerging Infectious Diseases,” (May 2016)
Research
- Nature – “Host and Viral Traits Predict Zoonotic Spillover From Mammals,” (June 2017)
- USAID – “Mapping Hotspots of Emerging Zoonoses,” (July 2016)
- World Health Organization – “R & D Blueprint,” (May 2016) The World Health Organization identifies the emerging diseases of most concern and strategies for preventing them from becoming epidemics.
- Trust for America’s Health – “Issue Brief: Top Actions the US Should Take to Prepare for MERS-CoV and Emerging Infections,” (June 2015)
- Journal of the Royal Society Interface – “Global Rise in Human Infectious Disease Outbreaks,” (Oct. 2014)
- PLOS Pathology – “Emerging Infectious Diseases: Threats to Human Health and Global Stability,” (July 2013)
- American Society for Microbiology – “Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife and Species Conservation” (December 2013)
