Research and Innovation Opportunities to Improve Epidemiological Knowledge and Control of Environmentally Driven Zoonoses

Tatiana Proboste; Ameh James; Adam Charette-Castonguay; Shovon Chakma; Javier Cortes-Ramirez; Erica Donner; Peter Sly; Ricardo J Soares Magalhães

doi:10.5334/aogh.3770

Research and Innovation Opportunities to Improve Epidemiological Knowledge and Control of Environmentally Driven Zoonoses

Ann Glob Health. 2022 Oct 21;88(1):93. doi: 10.5334/aogh.3770. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Tatiana Proboste^{1

2}, Ameh James², Adam Charette-Castonguay², Shovon Chakma¹, Javier Cortes-Ramirez^{3

4}, Erica Donner⁵, Peter Sly⁶, Ricardo J Soares Magalhães^{1

2

6}

Affiliations

¹ UQ Spatial Epidemiology Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, Australia.
² Queensland Alliance for One Health Sciences, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, Australia.
³ Children's Health and Environment Program, Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4101 QLD, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Data Science, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, 4059 QLD, Australia.
⁵ Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia.
⁶ Children's Health and Research Centre, Children's Health and Environment Program, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Australia.

Abstract

While zoonotic diseases are defined by transmission processes between animals and humans, for many of these diseases the presence of a contaminated environmental source is the cause of transmission. Most zoonoses depend on complex environmentally driven interactions between humans and animals, which occur along an occupational and recreational environmental continuum, including farming and animal marketing systems, environmental management systems, and community leisure environments. Environmentally driven zoonoses (EDZs) are particularly challenging to diagnose and control as their reservoirs are in the natural environment and thus often escape conventional surveillance systems that rely on host monitoring. Changes in the environment as a result of climate change [1], human population density [2], and intensification of agriculture [3] have been linked to increasing transmission events for this group of infections. As such, there is a recognised need to be able to detect the presence of EDZs in the environment as a means to better anticipate transmission events and improve source attribution investigations. Finally, the recognition that a One Health approach is needed to combat these infections is signalling to governments the need to develop policy that optimises trade-offs across human, animal, and environmental health sectors. In this review, we discuss and critically appraise the main challenges relating to the epidemiology, diagnosis, and control of environmental zoonotic disease. Using a set of exemplar diseases, including avian influenza and antimicrobial resistant pathogens, we explore the epidemiological contexts (risk factors) within which these infections not only impact human health but also contribute to animal health and environmental impacts. We then critically appraise the surveillance challenges of monitoring these infections in the environment and examine the policy trade-offs for a more integrated approach to mitigating their impacts.

Keywords: Animal health; Antimicrobial resistant; Environmentally driven zoonoses; One Health; Zoonoses.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Climate Change
Humans
Influenza in Birds*
One Health*
Population Density
Zoonoses / epidemiology
Zoonoses / prevention & control

Grants and funding

U13 ES033440/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States