Faced with the public health threat posed by emerging zoonotic diseases, Kerala has geared up to tackle the challenge by investing in interdisciplinary approaches including One Health and raising awareness to prevent outbreaks.
As the State is set to observe yet another World Zoonoses Day on Tuesday, veterinarians, wildlife experts and pathologists have pushed for a coordinated response mechanism to mitigate the impacts of zoonoses and devise collaborative strategies to prevent their recurrence.
“The recurrence of zoonotic events remains a mystery in the State,” says Nandakumar S. Nair, Disease Investigation Officer, State Institute for Animal Diseases, Palode. He attributed them to the failure to tackle such diseases by considering animals, humans and environment as inter-related.
“While veterinarians diagnose diseases among animals and treat them, the same pathogen is likely to infect a human being who will then be treated by a physician. Here, the possibility of reverse zoonosis through spillback transmission is often ignored,” he said, while pinpointing instances of COVID-19 which originated from animals being transmitted back to them by human beings.
Considering there remained several grey areas in zoonoses research, Dr. Nair said it was vital to integrate various disciplinary silos through data sharing to evolve pre-emptive measures.
P.O. Nameer, Head of Wildlife Sciences, College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, echoed the view while lamenting the lack of focus in ecological conservation. “Very often, we tend to ignore the health of the environment. Sadly, the scant regard towards the need to protect the ecosystem has led to long-lasting impacts on public health. Besides, diseases must no longer be viewed in a unidimensional manner. The root cause of most outbreaks were linked to human interventions on the nature,” he said.
In addition to avian flu, Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) that often rears its head in Wayanad is considered an emerging threat in the State. Considering the role of ticks in its transmission, Dr. Nair stressed on the role of entomologist in such cases to study viruses that hopscotch from species to species. Likewise, proper awareness undertaken jointly by medical and veterinary experts is the need of the hour in tribal hamlets in the district, he said.
The drivers of viral emergents will be discussed at the World Zoonoses Day commemoration being organised by the Indian Veterinary Association (IVA) Kerala on Tuesday.
Animal Husbandry Minister Chinchu Rani will inaugurate a national seminar on ‘Multiple stakeholder approach in tackling emerging zoonoses’. Public health expert B. Ekbal will lead a discussion on ‘Public health issues in Kerala’s context’.
