Unite human, animal and environmental health to prevent the next pandemic – UN Report

News: United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute(ILRI) has released a report titled “Preventing the Next Pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission”.

Facts:

• Aim: The report focuses on the context and nature of potential future zoonotic disease outbreaks during the Covid-19 pandemic by identifying the anthropogenic (changes in environment due to human activity) factors.
• Anthropogenic Factors: a) Increased Use of Wildlife b) Changes in Food Supply Chains c) Increased Demand for Animal Protein d) Intense and Unsustainable Farming and e) Use of Antimicrobials in farm settings contributing to the burden of antimicrobial resistance(AMR).

Additional Facts:

• Zoonoses or Zoonotic Disease: It is a disease that passes into the human population from an animal source directly or through an intermediary species.
  • Zoonotic infections can be bacterial, viral or parasitic in nature, with animals playing a vital role in maintaining such infections.
  • Examples of zoonoses include HIV-AIDS, Ebola, Malaria, and the current Covid-19 disease.
• UNEP: It was founded by the UN General Assembly as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) in 1972.
  • Reports: Emission Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook among others.
  • Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.
• International Livestock Research Institute(ILRI): It is an international agricultural research institute formed in 1994 through the merger of the International Livestock Centre for Africa and the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases.Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.