The Animal Origin of Major Human Infectious Diseases: What Can Past Epidemics Teach Us About Preventing the Next Pandemic?

Emerging infectious diseases are one of the greatest public health challenges. Approximately three-quarters of these diseases are of animal origin. These diseases include classical zoonoses maintained in humans only via transmission from other vertebrates (e.g., rabies) and those initiated by a succ...

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Main Authors: Guha Dharmarajan, Ruiyun Li, Emmanuel Chanda, Katharine R. Dean, Rodolfo Dirzo, Kjetill S. Jakobsen, Imroze Khan, Herwig Leirs, Zheng-Li Shi, Nathan D. Wolfe, Ruifu Yang, Nils Chr. Stenseth
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Compuscript Ltd 2022-03-01
Series:Zoonoses
Online Access:https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/ZOONOSES-2021-0028
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author Guha Dharmarajan
Ruiyun Li
Emmanuel Chanda
Katharine R. Dean
Rodolfo Dirzo
Kjetill S. Jakobsen
Imroze Khan
Herwig Leirs
Zheng-Li Shi
Nathan D. Wolfe
Ruifu Yang
Nils Chr. Stenseth
author_facet Guha Dharmarajan
Ruiyun Li
Emmanuel Chanda
Katharine R. Dean
Rodolfo Dirzo
Kjetill S. Jakobsen
Imroze Khan
Herwig Leirs
Zheng-Li Shi
Nathan D. Wolfe
Ruifu Yang
Nils Chr. Stenseth
author_sort Guha Dharmarajan
collection DOAJ
description Emerging infectious diseases are one of the greatest public health challenges. Approximately three-quarters of these diseases are of animal origin. These diseases include classical zoonoses maintained in humans only via transmission from other vertebrates (e.g., rabies) and those initiated by a successful one-off zoonotic event (host-switch) in conjunction with efficient human-to-human transmission (e.g., H1N1 influenza). Here, we provide a systematic review, in conjunction with a meta-analysis and spatial risk modeling, to identify the major characteristics of past epidemics of animal origin and predict areas with high future disease emergence risk. Countermeasures against future pandemics of animal origin must focus on several key mechanisms. First, the eco-epidemiological contexts favoring spillover events must be clearly establish. Second, pathogen surveillance must be scaled up, particularly in taxa and/or eco-geographic areas with high disease emergence risk. Third, successful spillover risk must be mitigated through proactive strategies to interrupt animal-to-human transmission chains. Fourth, to decrease epidemic potential and prevent epidemics from becoming pandemics, improved source identification and real-time spatial tracking of diseases are crucial. Finally, because pandemics do not respect international borders, enhancing international collaboration is critical to improving preparedness and response.
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publishDate 2022-03-01
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series Zoonoses
spelling doaj-art-d71b9a192bd8427dabd600b39f54e9ea2025-08-20T01:47:32ZengCompuscript LtdZoonoses2737-74662737-74742022-03-012198910.15212/ZOONOSES-2021-0028The Animal Origin of Major Human Infectious Diseases: What Can Past Epidemics Teach Us About Preventing the Next Pandemic?Guha DharmarajanRuiyun LiEmmanuel ChandaKatharine R. DeanRodolfo DirzoKjetill S. JakobsenImroze KhanHerwig LeirsZheng-Li ShiNathan D. WolfeRuifu YangNils Chr. StensethEmerging infectious diseases are one of the greatest public health challenges. Approximately three-quarters of these diseases are of animal origin. These diseases include classical zoonoses maintained in humans only via transmission from other vertebrates (e.g., rabies) and those initiated by a successful one-off zoonotic event (host-switch) in conjunction with efficient human-to-human transmission (e.g., H1N1 influenza). Here, we provide a systematic review, in conjunction with a meta-analysis and spatial risk modeling, to identify the major characteristics of past epidemics of animal origin and predict areas with high future disease emergence risk. Countermeasures against future pandemics of animal origin must focus on several key mechanisms. First, the eco-epidemiological contexts favoring spillover events must be clearly establish. Second, pathogen surveillance must be scaled up, particularly in taxa and/or eco-geographic areas with high disease emergence risk. Third, successful spillover risk must be mitigated through proactive strategies to interrupt animal-to-human transmission chains. Fourth, to decrease epidemic potential and prevent epidemics from becoming pandemics, improved source identification and real-time spatial tracking of diseases are crucial. Finally, because pandemics do not respect international borders, enhancing international collaboration is critical to improving preparedness and response.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/ZOONOSES-2021-0028
spellingShingle Guha Dharmarajan
Ruiyun Li
Emmanuel Chanda
Katharine R. Dean
Rodolfo Dirzo
Kjetill S. Jakobsen
Imroze Khan
Herwig Leirs
Zheng-Li Shi
Nathan D. Wolfe
Ruifu Yang
Nils Chr. Stenseth
The Animal Origin of Major Human Infectious Diseases: What Can Past Epidemics Teach Us About Preventing the Next Pandemic?
Zoonoses
title The Animal Origin of Major Human Infectious Diseases: What Can Past Epidemics Teach Us About Preventing the Next Pandemic?
title_full The Animal Origin of Major Human Infectious Diseases: What Can Past Epidemics Teach Us About Preventing the Next Pandemic?
title_fullStr The Animal Origin of Major Human Infectious Diseases: What Can Past Epidemics Teach Us About Preventing the Next Pandemic?
title_full_unstemmed The Animal Origin of Major Human Infectious Diseases: What Can Past Epidemics Teach Us About Preventing the Next Pandemic?
title_short The Animal Origin of Major Human Infectious Diseases: What Can Past Epidemics Teach Us About Preventing the Next Pandemic?
title_sort animal origin of major human infectious diseases what can past epidemics teach us about preventing the next pandemic
url https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/ZOONOSES-2021-0028
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