What is the assessment of the “One Health” actions carried out around the world? And how to federate this research which consists in monitoring, in an ecosystem, the circulation of an infectious germ in the animal species which harbor it, then in proposing interventions to limit its spread to human populations?
First observation: each ecosystem hosts its own fauna, which itself hosts its own microbes. And each ecosystem is home to its own human populations, who practice their own activities there. In other words, the observations made on one biotope cannot be extrapolated to another. These are case-by-case studies, in a mosaic of ecosystems. Hence an inevitable scattering.
How, then, to make the most of these dispersed efforts? To this end, an international initiative, Preventing the risks of zoonotic emergences and pandemics (Prezode), was launched in January 2021 on the occasion of the One Planet Summit. “It’s a strategy bottom up“from local to global””explains Marisa Peyre, deputy head of the animal, health, territories, risks and ecosystems department of the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), in Montpellier.
Split
Its originality is to attempt a wide gap between two scales of intervention: the local scale, by developing projects adapted to each environment; and at the international level, by defining global strategies inspired by these experiences. Driven by three French research institutes – the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (Inrae), CIRAD and the Research Institute for Development (IRD) – it brings together ten countries and 130 members: international institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO), national research organizations and NGOs. The necessary budget has been estimated at 350 million euros.
“The main strength of Prezode is to mobilize actors in the fieldbelieves Yannick Simonin, of Inserm, at the University of Montpellier. For example, breeders, bushmeat hunters, slaughterhouse staff, technical agents of veterinary services: they are the ones who are closest to the risk”therefore best placed to detect the first signals of an emerging epidemic.
What changes in human practices could reduce this risk?
This integrated approach is based on five pillars. First, it involves characterizing the risk of transmission of a zoonosis to humans, at the scale of an ecosystem. The animal reservoirs, the modes of transmission of the germ in question and the human practices at risk are scrutinized.
You have 33.49% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.