Preventing the Next Pandemic | UNEP Report | UPSC

• About 60 per cent of known infectious diseases in humans and 75 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic.

• Zoonotic infections can be bacterial, viral, or parasitic in nature, with animals playing a vital role in maintaining such infections.

The report identified seven anthropogenic driving factors leading to the emergence of zoonotic diseases —

1. Increased demand for animal protein.
2. Rise in intense and unsustainable farming.
3. The increased use and exploitation of wildlife.
4. Unsustainable utilisation of natural resources.
5. Travel and transportation.
6. Changes in food supply chains and the climate change crisis.

CONCERNS

• GROWING DEMAND : The growing demand for animal-derived food has encouraged the intensification and industrialisation of animal production.
• ANIMAL BREEDING : a large number of genetically similar animals are bred in for higher productivity and disease resistance.
• FARMING PRACTISES : Intensive farm settings cause them to be raised in close proximity to each other, in less ideal conditions characterised by limited biosecurity and animal husbandry,
• WASTE MANAGMENT : Poor waste management and use of antimicrobials as substitute for these conditions.
• ANTI- MICROBIAL RESISTANCES : High use of antimicrobials in such farm settings is also contributing to the burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• FOREST COVER : Moreover, loss of forest cover for agricultural purposes such as growing of soy, used as a key constituent of animal feed, is also influencing the emergence of zoonotic diseases by increasing human access to wildlife.
• WILDLIFE EXPLOITATION : The increased use and exploitation of wildlife can bring humans in closer contact with wild animals.

Thus increasing the risk of zoonotic disease emergence.

OTHER ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES

1. Harvesting of wild animals for meat.
2. Hunting and consumption of wildlife for recreation.
3. Trading of live animals for recreational use or research.
4. Use of animal parts for decorative.
5. Medical or commercial purposes.

IMPORTANCE OF A ‘ONE-HEALTH’

• Utilisation of natural resources owing to urbanisation, changes in land-use pattern and growing industrialisation can also cause destruction and fragmentation of wildlife habitats and increase contact between humans and wildlife.
• The UNEP and ILRI emphasised on the importance of a ‘One-Health’ approach to manage and prevent zoonotic disease outbreaks and pandemics, occurring at the interface of human, animal and environment health.

THESE INCLUDED:

1. AWARENESS : Raising awareness of zoonotic diseases.
2. ONE HEALTH : Investing in interdisciplinary approaches, including One Health.
3. SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRY : Expanding scientific enquiry into zoonotic diseases.
4. IMPACT ASSESSMENT : Improving cost-benefit analyses of interventions to include full-cost accounting of societal impacts of disease.
5. BEST PRACTISES : Strengthening monitoring and regulation practices associated with zoonotic diseases, including food systems.
6. SUSTAINABLE CHOICES : Incentivising sustainable land management practices and developing alternatives for food security and livelihoods that do not rely on the destruction of habitats and biodiversity.
7. IMPROVING BIOSECURITY : Identifying key drivers of emerging diseases in animal husbandry and encouraging proven management and zoonotic disease control measures.
8. SUSTAINABLE CO-EXISTENCE : Supporting the sustainable management of landscapes and seascapes that enhance sustainable co-existence of agriculture and wildlife.
9. CAPACITY BUILDING : Strengthening capacities among health stakeholders in all countries and