2023-10-22 02:26:26
70% of emerging human diseases are of animal origin, that is, they are due to pathogens that have managed to make a ‘jump’ between different species. We have a very close example of this microbiological ‘pirouette’: the SARS-CoV-2which came from a bat and managed to quickly adapt to humans.
Unfortunately, Covid has not been and will not be the only threat of these characteristics that we will have to face. The risk of zoonosis Not only will it not decrease, but, in all likelihood, it will grow in the future, spurred by the climate emergency, globalization and phenomena such as deforestation.
The professor of Microbiology remembers him Ignacio Lpez-Goithe doctor in Veterinary Medicine Elisa Prez-Ramrez and the professor in Pharmacy Gorka Orive in Global Health (Editions B), a work in which the three experts explain to what extent animal, human and environmental health are interconnected and emphasize that the way to face the challenges that zoonoses will pose in the future is implement a global health strategy – the so-called ‘one health’– that integrates the three aforementioned disciplines.
“Since the Covid pandemic there have been important advances. Above all at the institutional level, steps have been taken to achieve what we need, that human, animal and environmental health are interconnected, but there is still a long way to go to move from theory to practice,” says Prez-Ramrez, who gives a clear example of the benefits achieved with a ‘one health’ strategy.
“With the West Nile virus Surveillance is carried out on mosquitoes, birds and horses, for example in Doana, where the virus is circulating. This surveillance allows for early warning because there is sufficient evidence that three weeks before outbreaks begin to appear in humans, warning signs can already be detected in animals. “These data would allow us to implement a series of prevention measures to reduce the risks to people.”
“Human health is still considered a closed field. It is still necessary to do this exercise of interconnection, also at an academic level, because it is not in the study plans, there is no talk of ‘one health’,” says Orive, with whom he agrees. also López-Goi.
“It would also be essential that there be more coordination between the Ministries involved, Health, Agriculture and Environment. “We need an inter-ministerial office to facilitate coordination,” adds the microbiologist, who considers “a mistake that veterinarians do not depend on Health today.”
The threat of zoontic flu
If they had to bet on which pathogen is the most adept candidate to star in the next pandemic, all three place the zoontic flu as one of the most palpable threats.
“Influenza viruses meet many of the requirements necessary to be considered a pandemic risk”summarizes Prez-Ramrez.
The H5N1 subtype, he explains, “is breaking all the patterns that we previously knew about avian flu, affecting on a practically global scale, with mortalities never seen before in species that traditionally do not suffer from the disease and with outbreaks that last all year. Fortunately, it seems that it is still not very effective in the jump to humans, but the powerful epidemiological changes that it has experienced in just over two years place us in a scenario of very great uncertainty. And putting viruses and uncertainty together is always a little risky.” , he reflects.
In this sense, the authors are in favor of closely monitoring the evolution of the virus and minimizing the risks, such as those posed by mink breeding farms, where it has already been shown that reverse zoonosesthat is, a mutual contagion between animals and humans.
“Raising carnivores and, specifically, mustlids at very high densities and with low biosecurity measures is a time bomb and in recent years we have been receiving many warnings,” says Pérez-Ramárez.
“With Covid, it was demonstrated not only that humans transmitted it to minks, but that the animals replicated the virus at full speed, generated many adaptation mutations and were capable of returning the infection back to humans. This was a warning. , but recently we had another huge scare with bird flu, with a very large outbreak that occurred on a farm in Galicia. Luckily, the workers were not affected, but the risk was very high. I don’t know what “More is needed for action to be taken. In my opinion, the risks to public health posed by these types of farms do not at all outweigh the benefits that can be obtained from them.”
“The mosquito is the most dangerous animal on the planet”
Although they do not occupy these first positions in the pools for a new pandemic, we must also be very attentive to pathogens transmitted by arthropods, specialists point out.
“The mosquito is the most dangerous animal on the planet. It causes more than 725,000 deaths each year as it transmits hundreds of pathogens“, such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya or the aforementioned West Nile virus.
“Some of these viruses, which seemed very far away to us a few years ago, are already knocking on our door,” they point out. In Europe, the first case of indigenous dengue was first reported in 2010 and since then several local transmissions of the virus have been detected and experts are closely monitoring them.
The danger of bacterial resistance
Another microbiological threat to which we must pay more attention is that posed by bacterial resistance, says Orive. “It is a problem that is clearly getting worse and for whose solution we do not have clear tools right now. And it is essential because if antibiotics stop working, we will be facing a turning point,” she says.
“The proliferation of bacteria resistant to antibiotics represents a major global problem,” adds López-Goi, who recalls that there are many surgical interventions that depend on antibiotics. “If antibiotics stop fulfilling their function, perhaps they will cure our cancer but we could die from an infection caused by a bacteria multirresistente“.
Today, it is estimated that around 35,000 people die each year in Spain from complications related to infections caused by multi-resistant bacteria; a problem generated by the decades-long abuse of antibiotics in both humans and animals.
Both Orive, Lpez-Goi and Prez-Ramrez emphasize that the focus must be on the possible solutions available to address the microbiological threats we face.
First of all, they emphasize, it is essential to “invest in iscientific research“that allows the development of rapid diagnostic methods and new vaccines and treatments for emerging pathogens.
Furthermore, they also claim cooperation, both between doctors, veterinarians, biologists, environmentalists, etc., as well as between authorities involved in this field. And, finally, they also remember that it is necessary international solidarity. “It is a global health problem. No one will be safe until we all are.”
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