VN November 2021

Vetnuus | November 2021 12 Over the past four decades, approximately 75% of important emerging and re-emerging diseases spilt over from animals (zoonoses) with a strong link to wildlife origin. . These events have significant financial implications, with the World Bank estimating economic losses between 1997 to 2009 of US$80 billion, and that US$6.7 billion per year could be saved globally by preventing emerging disease outbreaks. The current COVID-19 pandemic exceeded these significantly and it is still escalating. Renewed thinking and commitment towards preventing pandemics is desperately needed. The One Health approach, stating that human, animal and environmental health are linked, is not new, but it is now even more urgent to translate into practical actions and requires an interdisciplinary approach and collaboration between all sectors to be successful. Prof Markotter, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, University of Pretoria was awarded a chair in Animal Infectious Diseases (Zoonoses) by the DSI-NRF South African Research Chairs (SARChi) Initiative in 2016. Specifically, biosurveillance in African bats species is an important part of this programme including constant evaluation of the diagnostic capacity both in the country but also for the region. In addition, is it important that data collection include host biology and ecology as well as environmental data to correlate with infection dynamics. High-risk factors and potential contact with humans and other animals need to be identified and included in surveillance strategies. As the human population increases, leading to more pressure on our environments, the risk for spillover of diseases will increase. Where you have an increase in human populations it comes with additional pressures for food security and infrastructure leading to more contact with animals either as a food source or by changing the environment and creating opportunities for contact. Knowing the diversity of pathogens in bats and when and where they can be transmitted is important. Routes of transmission must be clearly understood since they can be different depending on the virus e.g. urine, faecal, bite and it may be seasonal e.g. only present in the urine during the reproductive season of the bats. This is the basic information needed to start with but this alone will not stop outbreaks. We need to understand contact with people and other animals and the risk of transmission. Mitigations strategies to limit opportunities for spillover must be developed in collaboration with governments and all affected parties including the community. We need to go beyond just testing wildlife for pathogens. In 2019 this programme under the leadership of Prof. Markotter, received significant resources when funding from the USA Department of Defence, Defence Threat Reduction Agency was successfully awarded to an interdisciplinary team including academia, research institutes and government partners in the region and global experts. The Southern African Bat Research Network (SABRENet) is focused on biosurveillance of bat viruses that may spillover, but overall this project is strengthening Southern Africa’s ability to performwildlife surveillance and investigate potential factors or spillover. Preparing for the next pandemic can not just focus on disease detection. To only react when it is already a disease transmitted between humans is too late and extremely costly, both in human lives and economic impact. Prevention and readiness require a holistic approach between disciplines, academics, scientists, societies, governments and non-profit organizations, focused on developing sustainable solutions and mitigation strategies that are practical for our region and beyond. v Interdisciplinary research and the future of pandemic preparedness Prepared by Prof. Wanda Markotter, Director; Centre for Viral Zoonoses, DSI-NRF South African Research Chair in Infectious Diseases of Animals (Zoonoses), Faculty of Health Sciences, FutureAfrica Research chair in People, Health and Places, University of Pretoria wanda.markotter@up.ac.za