UC Davis leads attack on deadly new diseases
Oct 23, 2009 - 4:00:00 AM
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Those conditions enable the spread of microbes, especially virusesand bacteria, from animals to humans. Among the 1,461 pathogensrecognized to cause diseases in humans, at least 60 percent are ofanimal origin.
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By University of California - Davis,
[RxPG] In hopes of preventing the next global pandemic and a possible deathtoll into the millions, UC Davis today launches an unprecedentedinternational effort to find and control diseases that move betweenwildlife and people.
The global early warning system, named PREDICT, will be developedwith funding of up to $75 million over five years and is one of fivenew initiatives of the U.S. Agency for International Development(USAID) known in combination as the Emerging Pandemic ThreatsProgram. Building on its long-standing programs in diseasesurveillance and response, USAID is developing these initiatives tohelp prepare the world for infectious diseases like H1N1 flu, avianflu, SARS and Ebola.
UC Davis' primary PREDICT partners, which have formed a globalconsortium to implement PREDICT around the world, are: WildlifeConservation Society, Wildlife Trust, Global Viral Forecasting Inc.,and Smithsonian Institution.
Predicting where new diseases may emerge from wild animals, anddetecting viruses and other pathogens before they spread amongpeople, give us the best chance to prevent new pandemics, said JonnaMazet, the UC Davis scientist leading PREDICT. Mazet directs the UCDavis Wildlife Health Center within the new One Health Institute atthe School of Veterinary Medicine.
The concept of 'One Health' -- that human, animal and environmentalhealth are inextricably linked and should be considered holistically-- is a core principle of the PREDICT team.
To establish and maintain global pathogen surveillance, we will workdirectly with local governments and conservation organizations tobuild or expand programs in wildlife and human health. Together wewant to stop the next HIV, Mazet said. This collaborative approachis key to PREDICT's success.
The PREDICT team will be active in global hotspots where importantwildlife host species have significant interaction with domesticanimals and high-density human populations. They may include SouthAmerica's Amazon Basin, Africa's Congo Basin and neighboring RiftValley, South Asia's Gangetic Plain, and Southeast Asia. Asactivities in targeted regions come on-line, the team will focus ondetecting disease-causing organisms in wildlife before they spillover into people.
While no one can predict with certainty where the next pandemicdisease will emerge, being ready for early detection and rapidresponse will minimize its potential impact on our social andeconomic well-being, said Murray Trostle, deputy director of theAvian and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Unit of USAID.
UC Davis will bring on emerging-disease authority Stephen S. Morse ofColumbia University Mailman School of Public Health as director ofPREDICT. Morse said that, historically, pandemics -- epidemics thatspread around the world -- occurred perhaps every 30 to 40 years.But in our modern world, the chances of novel diseases or even a newpandemic emerging are higher than ever, because of how we live andthe extent to which we travel, Morse said. Our human settlements androadways push deeper into forests and wild areas where we now raiselivestock and poultry; and we transport ourselves, our animals andour food farther and faster around the globe.
Those conditions enable the spread of microbes, especially virusesand bacteria, from animals to humans. Among the 1,461 pathogensrecognized to cause diseases in humans, at least 60 percent are ofanimal origin.
Notable outbreaks of these animal-to-human diseases, or zoonoses(pronounced ZO-oh-NO-sees), include:
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