By Rebekah Mintzer
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| Chickens stand at a butcher at a market in India. Avian flu, which chickens can pass to humans, is one of the zoonotic diseases that OHASA will monitor carefully. (Photo credit: rockstarbaun/Creative Commons) |
An estimated 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases worldwide are zoonotic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Peter Daszak, president of Wildlife Trust and noted disease ecologist, explained the spread of these diseases to MediaGlobal: “These diseases emerge when humans come into contact with wildlife and livestock and the region has a high population density and continued encroachment into wildlife habitats. The big issue for us is to find ways to reduce the risk while allowing for growth in trade and other economic development activities.”
Two major zoonotic diseases that pose a danger in the Bangladesh and India border area, according to Daszak are Nipah virus and avian influenza. Nipah virus, a disease for which there is no known cure, is transmitted by fruit bats, who contaminate fruit, often raw date palm, whose raw juice humans or other animals then consume. There have been several Nipah virus outbreaks in recent years in Bangladesh and India specifically. Avian flu is transmitted from wild birds to poultry like chicken and turkeys and then may be passed to the humans that raise the poultry or come in close contact with it, though not by eating poultry if the poultry is cooked well. “The important message here is that both bats and birds fly across borders, so to deal with these diseases, we need to have a seamless surveillance strategy that covers both sides of the border,” Daszak said.
The areas of India and Bangladesh in question are well suited for the growth of infectious zoonotic disease due to their subtropical locations and a large amount of interaction common between humans and animals. Dr. G.N. Gongal, Regional Focal Point for Zoonoeses in South East Asia for the WHO described how interplay between humans and animals can encourage spread of disease. “Human behavior that supported disease emergence includes agriculture practices that allow species mixing… limited biosecurity to prevent mixing of domestic and wild animals, and a cultural preference for warm meat that has made live bird markets common in urban areas,” Dr. G.N. Gongal told MediaGlobal in an e-mail.
The idea for OHASA originated in 2008 when the Rockefeller Foundation directed Wildlife Trust to begin forming health networks between India and Bangladesh as part of a program the foundation was funding at the time. Recognizing that the problem of these zoonotic infectious diseases is that they know no borders, Wildlife Trust issued the “Bengal Declaration” as a formal call for support from governing agencies in India and Bangladesh. The resulting OHASA unites different sectors and disciplines for effective surveillance of disease outbreaks and for examination as to how these diseases are commonly transmitted to humans. This type of monitoring and communication across borders is essential to preventing potential pandemics. OHASA also hopes to expand to other parts of south Asia in the future.
