Researchers say that globalization and climate change trigger the threats of zoonotic diseases; that is, those that can be transmitted between animals and humans, caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi. With the covid-19 still hovering over half the world -some scientists maintain that this pandemic was transmitted from the contagion of bats to humans- and with also close cases such as monkey smallpox, ebola or zika, among others, public administrations They urge not to lower our guard against the “emerging threats” of zoonoses.
And it is that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the pathogens that have jumped from animals to humans “are a global public health problem that has multiplied in recent decades due to factors such as the increase in the population , the rise of mobility, the destruction of ecosystems and the trade of species».
For this reason, autonomous regions such as Valencia are investing almost 4 million euros annually in livestock surveillance and control plans to prevent some of the most common diseases in their main livestock sectors: swine (swine fever and Aujesky), poultry (avian influenza and salmonellosis ), cattle (tuberculosis and bluetongue), sheep and goats (brucellosis and smallpox), rabbits (myxomatosis), beekeeping (varroasis) and horses (Nile fever, osteoarthritis and anemia). Aquaculture facilities are also closely monitored.
Regarding pets, the Valencian Council of Veterinary Colleges warned last January of the risks of echinococcosis, a zoonosis caused by the parasites ‘Echinococcus granulosus’ and ‘Echinococcus multilocularis’. The infection, also called hydatidosis, originates from infection in humans when worm eggs are swallowed through contaminated food. Those eggs subsequently form cysts within the body.
The ‘E. granulosus’ is of concern because it is an infection caused by worms found in dogs and livestock such as sheep, pigs, goats, and cattle. These worms measure approximately 2 to 7 millimeters. For its part, the case of ‘E. multilocularis’ is an infection caused by worms found in dogs, cats, rodents, and foxes. This terrible disease is called alveolar echinococcosis (EA) and it can be deadly because tumor-like growths form in the liver. What a danger! Nor should we lose sight of the fact that until a year ago no one had monkeypox on their head because sometimes it is difficult to see a disease that does not exist in a territory.
What do the authorities do? Well, increase resources in pest prevention and eradication plans. «The sanitary conditions of the cattle herd have always been a concern of public administrations, not only to improve the profitability of farms, but, mainly, to control diseases communicable to humans and to obtain healthy food of animal origin. », assures the regional secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Roger Llanes.
The reflections of this senior Consell official come a few days after the Generalitat Valenciana launched a surveillance plan in 32 sheep and goat farms for smallpox. This protocol focuses specifically on 21,000 animals that arrived from farms in Castilla-La Mancha, the epicenter of a highly contagious disease with high mortality, although it is not transmitted to humans. The Valencian sheep and goat herd reaches 350,000 heads, compared to 3.5 million in Castilla-La Mancha.
The matter, according to Llanes, is not insignificant because it is necessary “to produce healthy food of animal origin, capable of giving all the guarantees in terms of food safety within the framework ‘from farm to table'” (Brussels strategy with the new PAC). In his opinion, it is necessary “to pay special attention to the first link in the food chain, that is, to livestock, and, in this sense, to monitor the agents that cause diseases, as well as substances that are harmful to humans,” he adds. .
Among other actions, the Ministry of Agriculture allocated in 2022 just over 1,500,000 euros for the sanitation of tuberculosis, which consists of analyzing dairy cattle and goats to check if they have any positive, as well as half a million for the sanitation of diseases such as avian influenza or salmonellosis in the case of birds, as well as Aujesky and plagues in the case of pigs.
This program also details the diagnostic tests that will be used and the laboratory that will analyze the samples, mainly the Animal Health Analysis Unit (UASA), which is the Animal Health laboratory of the General Directorate of Agriculture that investigates the samples taken (around of 250,000 analytical determinations in 2022).
key to exports
Animal health is also key to guaranteeing the economic competitiveness of the sector. According to the ministry, it plays a key role in opening and maintaining trade flows with other countries outside the community environment.
To export animals it is necessary to comply with certain criteria in this matter, which are established through protocols, agreements or other legal procedures. Therefore, the appearance of livestock diseases has a negative impact on trade, originating restrictions in domestic and foreign markets for affected animals and their products. There is more to remember the case of African swine fever in Germany. It sank that sector in the German country.
According to Roger Llanes, “livestock management has to be up to the controls of all links in the food chain. And this is done to guarantee animal welfare and avoid any risk of toxicity. Above all, the disease surveillance programs – he points out – require the coordination of all the autonomies. If African swine fever were to arrive, which it is not, a lot of joint work should be launched between all the territories of Spain”, comments Llanes after highlighting the prevention measures put in place when an outbreak of avian flu was recently detected in several cattle farms in Catalonia.
draw lessons
In this same sense, the president of the College of Veterinarians of the Valencian Community, Inmaculada Ibor, points out that the only possible way to approach this surveillance work is with a One Health perspective, a vision that was introduced at the beginning of this century to draw lessons from what happened with the ‘mad cow’ crisis. “People live in close contact with animals, with an environment increasingly affected by climate change. We share hundreds of diseases, so caring for animal health and attention to the environment is crucial to ensure better public health, “explains Ibor. According to the World Organization for Animal Health, 60% of known human infectious diseases are of animal origin, as are 75% of the pathogens of emerging infectious diseases in humans.
That is why he insists on not limiting this surveillance work to food animals and extending it to companion animals, those who live with people in their own homes. The Valencian Community has the Epizootiological Surveillance Network, a system that is added to that of epidemiological surveillance, developed by the health system with respect to notifiable human diseases, referring exclusively to the ten main zoonoses that affect pets but that could potentially infect humans.
Since 2016, when clinical veterinarians diagnose one of these diseases in cats or dogs, they report it to the Valencian Animal Identification Computer Registry (RIVIA). This makes it possible to monitor its evolution, levels of condition, areas of incidence and, of course, the possible threat that this may pose to people’s health.