Why Our Best Defence Against Future Pandemics is Data

Scientists in Thailand work to combat zoonotic diseases at their source. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates “intimate” linkages between the health of humans, animals and ecosystems, as zoonotic diseases spread between animals and people, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief said February 21. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via UN NewsBy Andy PetersEDINBURGH, Scotland, May 24 2021 (IPS) Although the World Health Organization’s (WHO) mission to discover its origins has proven inconclusive, the Covid-19 pandemic has nonetheless clearly highlighted the need for better care, attention, and investment in animal health systems. Without a decisive change of course to prevent other diseases from jumping the species barrier, we will likely be unable to avoid the pandemics of the future, which could prove even more severe and destructive. Some 75 per cent of emerging human infections are shared with animals, according to a UN report, and these emerging zoonoses could just as easily spread or mutate to unleash the next pandemic. Investing in a stronger and more resilient global animal health system is a clear win-win: it protects all people through the prevention, surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment of otherwise dangerous animal diseases – before they cross species and borders. However, investment alone will not overcome the fact that our current animal health systems are hamstrung by shortcomings in a crucial area: data. Poor, disparate, under-r...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Featured Global Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news