[Biodiversity loss, first step for viral emergences]. / Perte de biodiversité, prélude aux émergences virales.

Today, the emergence of zoonoses is one of the biggest concerns for human health. With the recent examples of the Ebola virus, avian flus or coronaviruses, this threat is intensifying and raising fears of pandemics of the same magnitude as Covid-19. In this article, we review the state of knowledge about the mechanisms involved in these emergences, especially the impact of human activities on ecosystems, the intensive breeding of domestic animals or wildlife trade. We conclude on the importance of adopting a real integrated "One Health" approach in order to implement solutions at the beginning of this process of emergence and thus prevent new catastrophes.

Title: Perte de biodiversité, prélude aux émergences virales. Abstract: Aujourd'hui, l'émergence de zoonoses est un phénomène des plus préoccupants. Avec les exemples récents du virus Ebola, des virus responsables des grippes aviaires, ou des coronavirus, cette menace s'intensifie et fait craindre des pandémies de la même ampleur que celle de la Covid-19. Dans cette synthèse, nous dressons l'état des connaissances sur les mécanismes impliqués dans ces émergences, que ce soit l'impact de l'homme sur les écosystèmes, l'élevage intensif d'animaux domestiques, ou encore le commerce de la faune sauvage. Nous concluons sur l'importance d'adopter une réelle approche intégrée « Une seule santé ¼ (One health) afin d'implémenter des solutions au début de ce processus d'émergence et ainsi de prévenir de nouvelles catastrophes.

Climate Anomalies and Spillover of Bat-Borne Viral Diseases in the Asia-Pacific Region and the Arabian Peninsula.

Climate variability and anomalies are known drivers of the emergence and outbreaks of infectious diseases. In this study, we investigated the potential association between climate factors and anomalies, including El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and land surface temperature anomalies, as well as the emergence and spillover events of bat-borne viral diseases in humans and livestock in the Asia-Pacific region and the Arabian Peninsula. Our findings from time series analyses, logistic regression models, and structural equation modelling revealed that the spillover patterns of the Nipah virus in Bangladesh and the Hendra virus in Australia were differently impacted by climate variability and with different time lags. We also used event coincidence analysis to show that the emergence events of most bat-borne viral diseases in the Asia-Pacific region and the Arabian Peninsula were statistically associated with ENSO climate anomalies. Spillover patterns of the Nipah virus in Bangladesh and the Hendra virus in Australia were also significantly associated with these events, although the pattern and co-influence of other climate factors differed. Our results suggest that climate factors and anomalies may create opportunities for virus spillover from bats to livestock and humans. Ongoing climate change and the future intensification of El Niño events will therefore potentially increase the emergence and spillover of bat-borne viral diseases in the Asia-Pacific region and the Arabian Peninsula.

Environnement, écosystèmes et impacts sur la santé humaine

Comme le souligne Worthington, « l'image réellement présentée par l'Afrique est celle du mouvement, toutes les branches de l'activité physique, biologique et humaine réagissant les unes sur les autres, pour produire ce que les biologistes appelleraient un complexe écologique » (cité par Tilley [10]). Santé et écosystemes Conservation biologique et santé Les liens entre le développement des sociétés, la santé et la conservation biologique sont abordés pour la premiere fois en 1968, lors de la Conférence de l'Unesco sur la biosphere. L'approche écosystémique Les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement (Millennium Development Goals), et plus particulierement le Millennium Ecosystem Assessment [13], établissent pour la premiere fois un lien fonctionnel entre la biodiversité, la santé et le bien-étre des populations humaines. Ce lien fonctionnel s'exprime par l'approche écosystémique, également promue par l'Unesco et par la Convention sur la diversité biologique

Getting out of crises: Environmental, social-ecological and evolutionary research is needed to avoid future risks of pandemics.

The implementation of One Health/EcoHealth/Planetary Health approaches has been identified as key (i) to address the strong interconnections between risk for pandemics, climate change and biodiversity loss and (ii) to develop and implement solutions to these interlinked crises. As a response to the multiple calls from scientists on that subject, we have here proposed seven long-term research questions regarding COVID-19 and emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) that are based on effective integration of environmental, ecological, evolutionary, and social sciences to better anticipate and mitigate EIDs. Research needs cover the social ecology of infectious disease agents, their evolution, the determinants of susceptibility of humans and animals to infections, and the human and ecological factors accelerating infectious disease emergence. For comprehensive investigation, they include the development of nature-based solutions to interlinked global planetary crises, addressing ethical and philosophical questions regarding the relationship of humans to nature and regarding transformative changes to safeguard the environment and human health. In support of this research, we propose the implementation of innovative multidisciplinary facilities embedded in social ecosystems locally: ecological health observatories and living laboratories. This work was carried out in the frame of the European Community project HERA (www.HERAresearchEU.eu), which aims to set priorities for an environment, climate and health research agenda in the European Union by adopting a systemic approach in the face of global environmental change.

Biodiversity Targets, SDGs and Health: A New Turn after the Coronavirus Pandemic?

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we invite readers to a reflection over the aim and use of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the determination of the new biodiversity targets in relation to health issues. Starting with a brief overview of the initiatives to consider health and the environment in the international arena before the adoption of SDGs, we show how the pandemic shed a new light on the need for research on the interlinkages of human and animal health and environmental changes. We examine underlying elements of the dialogue between science and policy, then we suggest considering SDGs as tool for the service of the environment, wellbeing and justice. We advocate for the translation of planetary health principles into action, together with the consideration of planetary boundaries, to redefine an adaptive environmental law for the sake of social justice and the health of the planet.

Biodiversity and COVID-19: A report and a long road ahead to avoid another pandemic.

A report from a workshop organized by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services on biodiversity and pandemics examined the scientific evidence on the origin of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other emerging zoonotic diseases. Here, we reflect upon the report's findings regarding how several important global initiatives are tackling the problems of preventing the emergence of zoonotic diseases by using the One Health approach.

"Health in" and "Health of" Social-Ecological Systems: A Practical Framework for the Management of Healthy and Resilient Agricultural and Natural Ecosystems.

The past two decades have seen an accumulation of theoretical and empirical evidence for the interlinkages between human health and well-being, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and agriculture. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the devastating impacts that an emerging pathogen, of animal origin, can have on human societies and economies. A number of scholars have called for the wider adoption of "One Health integrated approaches" to better prevent, and respond to, the threats of emerging zoonotic diseases. However, there are theoretical and practical challenges that have precluded the full development and practical implementation of this approach. Whilst integrated approaches to health are increasingly adopting a social-ecological system framework (SES), the lack of clarity in framing the key concept of resilience in health contexts remains a major barrier to its implementation by scientists and practitioners. We propose an operational framework, based on a transdisciplinary definition of Socio-Ecological System Health (SESH) that explicitly links health and ecosystem management with the resilience of SES, and the adaptive capacity of the actors and agents within SES, to prevent and cope with emerging health and environmental risks. We focus on agricultural transitions that play a critical role in disease emergence and biodiversity conservation, to illustrate the proposed participatory framework to frame and co-design SESH interventions. Finally, we highlight critical changes that are needed from researchers, policy makers and donors, in order to engage communities and other stakeholders involved in the management of their own health and that of the underpinning ecosystems.

Explaining among-country variation in COVID-19 case fatality rate.

While the epidemic of SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide, there is much concern over the mortality rate that the infection induces. Available data suggest that COVID-19 case fatality rate had varied temporally (as the epidemic has progressed) and spatially (among countries). Here, we attempted to identify key factors possibly explaining the variability in case fatality rate across countries. We used data on the temporal trajectory of case fatality rate provided by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and country-specific data on different metrics describing the incidence of known comorbidity factors associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 mortality at the individual level. We also compiled data on demography, economy and political regimes for each country. We found that temporal trajectories of case fatality rate greatly vary among countries. We found several factors associated with temporal changes in case fatality rate both among variables describing comorbidity risk and demographic, economic and political variables. In particular, countries with the highest values of DALYs lost to cardiovascular, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases had the highest values of COVID-19 CFR. CFR was also positively associated with the death rate due to smoking in people over 70 years. Interestingly, CFR was negatively associated with share of death due to lower respiratory infections. Among the demographic, economic and political variables, CFR was positively associated with share of the population over 70, GDP per capita, and level of democracy, while it was negatively associated with number of hospital beds ×1000. Overall, these results emphasize the role of comorbidity and socio-economic factors as possible drivers of COVID-19 case fatality rate at the population level.

Was the COVID-19 pandemic avoidable? A call for a "solution-oriented" approach in pathogen evolutionary ecology to prevent future outbreaks.

Concerns about the prospect of a global pandemic have been triggered many times during the last two decades. These have been realised through the current COVID-19 pandemic, due to a new coronavirus SARS-CoV2, which has impacted almost every country on Earth. Here, we show how considering the pandemic through the lenses of the evolutionary ecology of pathogens can help better understand the root causes and devise solutions to prevent the emergence of future pandemics. We call for better integration of these approaches into transdisciplinary research and invite scientists working on the evolutionary ecology of pathogens to contribute to a more "solution-oriented" agenda with practical applications, emulating similar movements in the field of economics in recent decades.

SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: A genetic, epidemiological, and evolutionary perspective.

In less than five months, COVID-19 has spread from a small focus in Wuhan, China, to more than 5 million people in almost every country in the world, dominating the concern of most governments and public health systems. The social and political distresses caused by this epidemic will certainly impact our world for a long time to come. Here, we synthesize lessons from a range of scientific perspectives rooted in epidemiology, virology, genetics, ecology and evolutionary biology so as to provide perspective on how this pandemic started, how it is developing, and how best we can stop it.