Animal & Human Leptospirosis In A High Transmission Setting In Fiji

Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease with a worldwide distribution, yet disproportionally affects poor rural subsistence farmers in the tropics. The animal reservoirs for spill-over infection to humans in such settings in the South Pacific have not been well delineated, thus hampering effective control efforts. We conducted a case control investigation among households that participated in a seroprevalence survey for leptospirosis in Western Fiji. We surveyed domestic animals and trapped rodents at 45 cases and 73 control households who had one or more, and no inhabitants with evidence for anti-leptospire agglutinating antibodies. We performed serology among all animals and used polymerase chain reaction to detect Leptospira DNA in kidneys of trapped rodents. One or more seropositive animals were identified among 78% of the 96 households with domestic animals or trapped rodents. There was not a significant difference between the presence of seropositive animals between case and control household (67% vs 85%, respectively). Agglutinating antibodies were detected from a high proportion of households with horses (85%) and cattle (73%), indicating that the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in livestock was high in this region. Agglutinating antibodies against serogroup Australis, which was recognized by 64% of the seropositive human inhabitants, were detected from six of the seven animal species. Additionally, a proportional similarity index analysis indicated that cattle, horses, dogs, rodents and humans form a transmission network. There was a non-significant trend for Leptospira DNA positive rats to be trapped in case vs control households (OR 5.71, p=0.09). Our studying findings indicate that there exists a complex network of transmission between livestock, domestic animals and rodents in Western Fiji, and the source for human leptospirosis cannot be attributed to a single reservoir species. Therefore, control of leptospirosis in rural Fiji and similar high transmission settings will need to rely on multiple intersectorial strategies that target prevention of leptospirosis in livestock, rodent control, the use of personal protection and barrier approaches, and reduction of high risk behaviors

Ranking the risk of animal-to-human spillover for newly discovered viruses

The death toll and economic loss resulting from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic are stark reminders that we are vulnerable to zoonotic viral threats. Strategies are needed to identify and characterize animal viruses that pose the greatest risk of spillover and spread in humans and inform public health interventions. Using expert opinion and scientific evidence, we identified host, viral, and environmental risk factors contributing to zoonotic virus spillover and spread in humans. We then developed a risk ranking framework and interactive web tool, SpillOver, that estimates a risk score for wildlife-origin viruses, creating a comparative risk assessment of viruses with uncharacterized zoonotic spillover potential alongside those already known to be zoonotic. Using data from testing 509,721 samples from 74,635 animals as part of a virus discovery project and public records of virus detections around the world, we ranked the spillover potential of 887 wildlife viruses. Validating the risk assessment, the top 12 were known zoonotic viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Several newly detected wildlife viruses ranked higher than known zoonotic viruses. Using a scientifically informed process, we capitalized on the recent wealth of virus discovery data to systematically identify and prioritize targets for investigation. The publicly accessible SpillOver platform can be used by policy makers and health scientists to inform research and public health interventions for prevention and rapid control of disease outbreaks. SpillOver is a living, interactive database that can be refined over time to continue to improve the quality and public availability of information on viral threats to human health

Cross-cutting principles for planetary health education

Since the 2015 launch of the Rockefeller Foundation Lancet Commission on planetary health,1 an enormous groundswell of interest in planetary health education has emerged across many disciplines, institutions, and geographical regions. Advancing these global efforts in planetary health education will equip the next generation of scholars to address crucial questions in this emerging field and support the development of a community of practice. To provide a foundation for the growing interest and efforts in this field, the Planetary Health Alliance has facilitated the first attempt to create a set of principles for planetary health education that intersect education at all levels, across all scales, and in all regions of the world—ie, a set of cross-cutting principles

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

Plant health and its effects on food safety and security in a One Health framework: four case studies

Although healthy plants are vital to human and animal health, plant health is often overlooked in the One Health literature. Plants provide over 80% of the food consumed by humans and are the primary source of nutrition for livestock. However, plant diseases and pests often threaten the availability and safety of plants for human and animal consumption. Global yield losses of important staple crops can range up to 30% and hundreds of billions of dollars in lost food production. To demonstrate the complex interrelationships between plants and public health, we present four case studies on plant health issues directly tied to food safety and/or security, and how a One Health approach influences the perception and mitigation of these issues. Plant pathogens affect food availability and consequently food security through reductions in yield and plant mortality as shown through the first case study of banana Xanthomonas wilt in East and Central Africa. Case studies 2, 3 and 4 highlight ways in which the safety of plant-based foods can also be compromised. Case study 2 describes the role of mycotoxin-producing plant-colonizing fungi in human and animal disease and examines lessons learned from outbreaks of aflatoxicosis in Kenya. Plants may also serve as vectors of human pathogens as seen in case study 3, with an example of Escherichia coli (E. coli) contamination of lettuce in North America. Finally, case study 4 focuses on the use of pesticides in Suriname, a complex issue intimately tied to food security though protection of crops from diseases and pests, while also a food safety issue through misuse. These cases from around the world in low to high income countries point to the need for interdisciplinary teams to solve complex plant health problems. Through these case studies, we examine challenges and opportunities moving forward for mitigating negative public health consequences and ensuring health equity. Advances in surveillance technology and functional and streamlined workflow, from data collection, analyses, risk assessment, reporting, and information sharing are needed to improve the response to emergence and spread of plant-related pathogens and pests. Our case studies point to the importance of collaboration in responses to plant health issues that may become public health emergencies and the value of the One Health approach in ensuring food safety and food security for the global population

Beyond COVID-19: Conserving nature to prevent the next pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has unimaginably changed our lives with long-lasting consequences for our society, environment and the global economy. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is just one of the many pathogens that have already emerged in humans as a result of interactions with wildlife and is only one of the many to come if we do not reduce our impacts on natural systems. While the immediate priority is to tackle the COVID-19 public health emergency, our parallel and long-lasting response must focus on addressing the root causes of pandemics. Human and animal health are inextricably linked with the pathogens they carry and the ecosystems that are shared. The degradation of nature disturbs this delicate balance between microbes, their natural hosts, and environments—driving the emergence of disease

Beyond COVID-19: Conserving nature to prevent the next pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has unimaginably changed our lives with long-lasting consequences for our society, environment and the global economy. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is just one of the many pathogens that have already emerged in humans as a result of interactions with wildlife and is only one of the many to come if we do not reduce our impacts on natural systems. While the immediate priority is to tackle the COVID-19 public health emergency, our parallel and long-lasting response must focus on addressing the root causes of pandemics. Human and animal health are inextricably linked with the pathogens they carry and the ecosystems that are shared. The degradation of nature disturbs this delicate balance between microbes, their natural hosts, and environments—driving the emergence of disease

A Large Leptospirosis Outbreak following Successive Severe Floods in Fiji, 2012

International audienceSevere flooding has been linked to outbreaks of leptospirosis. Two sequential extreme flood events in Western Fiji caused the largest outbreak of leptospirosis recorded in the South Pacific, with 1,217 total suspected cases, of which 314 were probable and confirmed. Most (83%) cases occurred within 6 weeks of the flood events, displaying a biphasic epidemic curve associated with the floods. Given the temporal proximity of cases to flooding events, most of the transmission appeared to occur during or immediately after the floods; therefore, prevention of exposure to contaminated environments is a priority in the immediate flood and post-flood period. In addition, genotyping studies suggest that multiple animal reservoirs were implicated in the outbreak, reaffirming the importance of integrated human and animal health strategies for leptospirosis control

Trends and correlates of cystic echinococcosis in Chile: 2001–2012

<div><p>Echinococcosis is a neglected zoonotic disease affecting over 1 million people worldwide at any given time. It is the leading cause of hospital admissions for parasitic diseases in Chile. We conducted a retrospective investigation of hospitalized cases to describe the epidemiological trends of echinococcosis in Chile. We also examined the potential environmental risk factors for echinococcosis hospitalization rates. Through nation-wide hospital discharge data, a total of 11,516 hospitalized patients with cystic echinococcosis were identified between January 2001 and December 2012. The mean age of hospitalization was 40 years, with notable gender difference in pediatric patients. The hospitalization rate was found to be overall steadily decreasing from 2001 (7.02 per 100,000) to 2012 (4.53 per 100,000) with a 5% decrease per year (rate ratio = 0.95 [95% CI: 0.94, 0.96]). The hospitalization rate was higher in the south of Chile compared to the north. Goat density and intermediate precipitation were found to be significantly positively associated with the hospitalization rate while annual average temperature was found to be significantly negatively associated with the hospitalization rate. Findings of this study indicate that echinococcosis is still an important public health burden in Chile related to interaction with livestock and climate. Efforts should be placed on targeted prevention measures for farmers and raising awareness of echinococcosis among health care workers.</p></div