Research # Line 4
Foreseeing and managing infectious disease risks linked to wildlife and domestic animals Sanitary constraints concerning contagious bovine pleuropneumonia or avian influenza are a daily concern for livestock farmers in the tropics. Emerging and reemerging animal diseases, which are regularly spotlighted in the international news, are constantly progressing. This includes zoonotic diseases which represent serious risks for human societies in developing and developed countries. The increase in world trade, climate change, ecological disturbances, urbanization, inadequacy of many health systems and intensification of livestock production have created favourable conditions for these diseases, with major concomitant epidemiological and economic impacts. Besides veterinary sciences, a range of different disciplines such as ecology, epidemiology, modelling and, to an increasing extent, economic and social sciences, are involved in integrated disease management. CIRAD is thus participating in developing international animal health and veterinary public health networks. Other tools, such as remote sensing, make it possible to identify areas conducive to virus survival - especially the avian influenza virus - and to classify them according to biophysical parameters. Within the framework of an FAO surveillance programme, coordinated by CIRAD in collaboration with Wetlands International, a natural infection by a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus strain was, for the first time, detected in healthy wild ducks in Nigeria. The virus’ dispersal patterns were thus monitored by tracking the movements of these birds by satellite telemetry. Controlling contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, a serious cattle disease in Africa, is a major challenge for CIRAD. Knowledge on this disease has increased considerably in recent years with the sequencing of several of the pathogen’s genomes and the unravelling of the protective immune mechanisms. Substantial advances have been achieved in the last year, such as the development of new diagnostic, molecular epidemiology and vaccination methods. CIRAD is acknowledged by international bodies as an important stakeholder in disease surveillance and vaccine development. Its presence in developing countries is a major advantage, ie it has in-depth knowledge of the areas from which most of these diseases originate. It has privileged relationships with its partners in the Mediterranean Basin, Africa and Southeast Asia, and has invested heavily in training activities over the last 40 years. It is also involved in solid collaborations with institutions in developed countries.