The zoonotic and natural foci characteristics of SARS-CoV-2.

The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still an unresolved mystery. In this study, we systematically reviewed the main research progress of wild animals carrying virus highly homologous to SARS-CoV-2 and analyzed the natural foci characteristics of SARS-CoV-2. The complexity of SARS-CoV-2 origin in wild animals and the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 long-term existence in human populations are also discussed. The joint investigation of corona virus carried by wildlife, as well as the ecology and patho-ecology of bats and other wildlife, are key measures to further clarify the characteristics of natural foci of SARS-CoV-2 and actively defend against future outbreaks of emerging zoonotic diseases.

Monkeypox: a global health emergency.

Over the past 2 years, the world has faced the impactful Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with a visible shift in economy, medicine, and beyond. As of recent times, the emergence of the monkeypox (mpox) virus infections and the growing number of infected cases have raised panic and fear among people, not only due to its resemblance to the now eradicated smallpox virus, but also because another potential pandemic could have catastrophic consequences, globally. However, studies of the smallpox virus performed in the past and wisdom gained from the COVID-19 pandemic are the two most helpful tools for humanity that can prevent major outbreaks of the mpox virus, thus warding off another pandemic. Because smallpox and mpox are part of the same virus genus, the Orthopoxvirus genus, the structure and pathogenesis, as well as the transmission of both these two viruses are highly similar. Because of these similarities, antivirals and vaccines approved and licensed in the past for the smallpox virus are effective and could successfully treat and prevent an mpox virus infection. This review discusses the main components that outline this current global health issue raised by the mpox virus, by presenting it as a whole, and integrating aspects such as its structure, pathogenesis, clinical aspects, prevention, and treatment options, and how this ongoing phenomenon is being globally approached.

Planning for Emerging Infectious Disease Pandemics

Problem, research strategy, and findingsPlanners have not paid enough attention to managing the risk of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), of which COVID-19 is the most recent manifestation. Overlooking aggressive policies to manage this risk of zoonotic viruses reassorting between sick animals and humans misses the greatest opportunity for stopping future disease pandemics. In this study we review several disciplines, outline the scant planning literature on EIDs, and identify the increasing calls from virologists and medical professionals to address urbanization as a key EID driver. Using the case of avian influenza outbreaks in Vietnam in 2004 and 2005, we conceptualize a preventive planning approach to managing the risk of zoonotic transmission that results in EID pandemics.Takeaway for practiceWe make several recommendations for planners. Practicing planners should consider how their plans manage the risk of zoonotic disease transmission between animals and humans through land use planning and community planning. Planning education and certification organizations should develop positions regarding the role of planning for EIDs. Food systems planners should consider the importance of livestock practices in food production as a risk factor for EIDs. Diverse research teams should combine geographic scales, data sources, and disciplinary knowledge to examine how an extended series of upstream and downstream events can result in a global pandemic. Such empirical examination can lead to effective planning policies to greatly reduce this risk.

Perceptions of COVID-19 origins and China's wildlife policy reforms.

Given the link between perceptions of zoonotic risk and support for regulations such as wildlife consumption bans, debates regarding the origins of COVID-19 are likely to have conservation implications. Specifically, alternative hypotheses that cast doubt on COVID-19's zoonotic origins could potentially lessen momentum for China's wildlife policy reforms and their associated conservation impacts. To better understand the impact of COVID-19 origin debates on China's wildlife policies, we conducted a 974-respondent survey across mainland China, supplemented by policy and media reviews. We examined perceptions of three facets of COVID-19 origins: geographic location, source (e.g., wildlife farm, wet market, etc.), and specific wildlife species as transmitters. Our findings reveal that 64.6 % of respondents believed COVID-19 originated in the United States or Europe, not in China. Further, compared to the baseline group of respondents who selected China as the origin country, respondents who selected the United States or Europe as the origin had a greater likelihood of selecting laboratories/research and imported frozen foods as likely sources, while these respondents had a lower likelihood of selecting wild animals in a wet market or natural causes as likely sources. Despite such varied beliefs regarding COVID-19 origins, support for wildlife policy reforms was strong: 89.5 % of respondents who previously consumed wildlife self-indicated reduced consumption after the pandemic and 70.5 % of respondents supported banning the trade of all wildlife species. Moreover, those respondents who selected wild animals in a wet market as a likely source of COVID-19 had a greater likelihood of supporting a trade ban on all wild-caught wildlife and all farmed wildlife. Our results indicate that, although investigation of COVID-19's origins is on-going and politicized, there is clear support for wildlife reforms in China that can promote conservation outcomes.

Considerations for an ethic of One Health: Towards a socially responsible zoonotic disease control

The COVID-19 pandemic once again confirmed that zoonotic diseases are a serious threat to humanity. These infectious diseases, which are transmitted from animals to humans, have the power to cause a global health crisis. Besides all the physical suffering, such a health crisis is also disruptive to our social lives and our economy, inter alia due to disease control measures. Zoonotic diseases are probably as old as humanity itself. However, over time the risk on zoonotic disease outbreaks has increased. Since the beginning of this century we have experienced outbreaks of SARS (2002), H1N1 influenza (2009), MERS (2012), Ebola (2014), Zika (2015) and now COVID-19 (2019). Some of the main drivers for the (re)emergence of these diseases are global population growth, urbanization, worldwide transport, increased demand for animal protein, unsustainable agriculture, and climate change.In chapter 1, the introduction of my thesis, I explain that this development has fueled a renewed interest in the relation between human, animal and environmental health. The awareness that human health is inextricably connected with the health of animals and ecosystems, led to the understanding that interdisciplinary cooperation is indispensable to combat (re)emerging zoonotic diseases. Around 2008, this way of thinking was framed in the concept of One Health, which can be defined as the integrative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. At present, the One Health approach is the worldwide standard to combat zoonotic diseases. In an ideal world such a strategy should lead to a better health for humans, animals and our environment.However, in practice it is not self-evident that a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control is actually in the interest of animals or the environment. As we have seen during the Q-fever outbreak in the Netherlands (2007-2012) zoonotic disease control can lead to ethical questions. Not only because conflicts of interest can arise between human centered values like public health and economy. If we really understand One Health as a call to promote the health of humans as well as the health of animals and the environment, the current practice of zoonotic disease control is often morally problematic. From a holistic One Health perspective it is, for example, difficult to accept economically driven nonvaccination policies, that lead to culling of healthy animals. The same goes for long term confinement of free range poultry, whose housing systems are often not suitable for this purpose, to prevent avian influenza outbreaks. Or antimicrobial reduction policies that lead to higher disease incidence and mortality in animals. These ethical considerations formed the start of this thesis.The aim of my research is to clarify the ethical assumptions of a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control, to explore how these can be coherently understood and ethically justified and to indicate what this implies for policymaking. This has led to my overall research question: how should a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control be conceived and justified from an ethical perspective? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Automated sample-to-answer system for rapid and accurate diagnosis of emerging infectious diseases

Automated sample-to-answer systems that promptly diagnose emerging infectious diseases, such as zoonotic diseases, are crucial to preventing the spread of infectious diseases and future global pandemics. However, automated, rapid, and sensitive diagnostic testing without professionals and sample capacity and type limitations remains unmet needs. Here, we developed an automated sample-to-answer diagnostic system for rapid and accurate detection of emerging infectious diseases from clinical specimens. This integrated system consists of a microfluidic platform for sample preparation and a bio-optical sensor for nucleic acid (NA) amplification/detection. The microfluidic platform concentrates pathogens and NAs in a large sample volume using adipic acid dihydrazide and a low-cost disposable chip. The bio-optical sensor allows label-free, isothermal one-step NA amplification/detection using a ball-lensed optical fiber-based silicon micro-ring resonator sensor. The system is integrated with software to automate testing and perform analysis rapidly and simply;it can distinguish infection status within 80 min. The detection limit of the system (0.96 × 101 PFU) is 10 times more sensitive than conventional methods (0.96 × 102 PFU). Furthermore, we validated the clinical utility of this automated system in various clinical specimens from emerging infectious diseases, including 20 plasma samples for Q fever and 13 (11 nasopharyngeal swabs and 2 saliva) samples for COVID-19. The system showed 100% sensitivity and specificity for detecting 33 samples of emerging infectious diseases, such as Q fever, other febrile diseases, COVID-19, human coronavirus OC43, influenza A, and respiratory syncytial virus A. Therefore, we envision that this automated sample-to-answer diagnostic system will show high potential for diagnosing emerging infectious diseases in various clinical applications. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

An immunoinformatic approach towards development of a potent and effective multi-epitope vaccine against monkeypox virus (MPXV).

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease, often transmitted to humans from animals. While the whole world is haggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergence of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) arose as a new challenge to mankind. Till date, numerous cases related to the MPXV have been reported in several countries across the globe, but, its momentary distribution in the current time has left everyone in fright with increasing mortality and limited clinically approved treatments. Therefore, it is of immense importance to develop a potent and highly effective vaccine capable of inducing desired immunogenic responses against the highly contagious MPXV. Herein, using various immunoinformatic and computational biology tools, we made an attempt to develop a multi-epitope vaccine construct against the MPXV which is antigenic, non-allergen and non-toxic in nature and capable of exhibiting immunogenic behavior. The sequence of vaccine construct was designed using the proposed 4 MHC-I, 3 MHC-II and 4 B-cell epitopes linked with suitable adjuvant and linkers. The modeled structure of the vaccine construct was used to assess its interaction with the Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) using ClusPro and HADDOCK. All-atoms molecular dynamics simulation of the MPXV vaccine construct-TLR4 complex followed by a high level of gene expression of the construct within the bacterial system affirmed its stability along with induction of immunogenic response within the host cell. Altogether, our immunoinformatic approach aid in the development of a stable chimeric vaccine construct against MPXV and needs further experimental validation for its immunological relevance and usefulness as a vaccine candidate.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Brucella melitensis Lurking Threat in Eastern Part of Odisha - A Case Report

Brucellosis is a rising veterinary and human health problem in India. It may manifest with a varied multisystem clinical presentation. In our case patient was a 72 years male with complaint of abdominal pain for 2 months following COVID-19 infection. He was a known case of CAD (coronary artery disease) post PTCA status, on regular follow up & treatment. Patient had post COVID pulmonary fibrosis. When the patient admitted in our hospital with above mentioned complaints, necessary investigations along with blood culture by automated method was sent and patient was started on empirical doxycycline along with other symptomatic treatment. As the patient was not very sick and was reluctant to stay in hospital during the COVID-19 situation, he was discharged on request with a treatment and follow up plan. Blood culture was found to be positive for Brucella melitensis. When we got the blood culture report the patient was contacted telephonically and started Rifampicin along with Doxycycline for 6 weeks.

A Brief Report on Monkeypox Outbreak 2022: Historical Perspective and Disease Pathogenesis.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). It was an epidemic infection among African countries over the last few decades. In 2022, MPXV has been broke through in Africa, America, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, South-East Asia, and Western Pacific region. This widespread infection of MPXV has created panic across the nations, and the WHO has declared a global public health emergency due to the multi-country MPX outbreak. We prepared this brief report on the MPX outbreak 2022 by extracting data from Scopus, PubMed, and website databases. We manually read all the relevant articles from our target databases. The rapid spread of MPX infection in around a 100 countries has threatened the global healthcare systems. The available epidemiological data revealed that sexual orientations and encounters are potential contributing factors for monkeypox infections. However, it has not been categorized as a sexually transmitted infection. Also, MPXV can transfer from 1 individual to others in many ways. The empowerment of this old foe has created additional pressure and threat on the healthcare authorities during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Effective preventive measures, social awareness, and therapeutic approaches can reduce this extra burden on the healthcare system across the countries. Focusing only on sexual orientations and encounters as risk factors for MPX infection might increase stigma that will be another barrier to controlling and preventing MPXV spread. Therefore, we should be careful in delivering messages about MPX infection to the general population. Also, we recommend repositioning the existing smallpox vaccines and antivirals in MPX infection until the development of specific antiviral agents against this infection.

Considerations for an ethic of one health: Towards a socially responsible zoonotic disease control

The COVID-19 pandemic once again confirmed that zoonotic diseases are a serious threat to humanity. These infectious diseases, which are transmitted from animals to humans, have the power to cause a global health crisis. Besides all the physical suffering, such a health crisis is also disruptive to our social lives and our economy, inter alia due to disease control measures. Zoonotic diseases are probably as old as humanity itself. However, over time the risk on zoonotic disease outbreaks has increased. Since the beginning of this century we have experienced outbreaks of SARS (2002), H1N1 influenza (2009), MERS (2012), Ebola (2014), Zika (2015) and now COVID-19 (2019). Some of the main drivers for the (re)emergence of these diseases are global population growth, urbanization, worldwide transport, increased demand for animal protein, unsustainable agriculture, and climate change.In chapter 1, the introduction of my thesis, I explain that this development has fueled a renewed interest in the relation between human, animal and environmental health. The awareness that human health is inextricably connected with the health of animals and ecosystems, led to the understanding that interdisciplinary cooperation is indispensable to combat (re)emerging zoonotic diseases. Around 2008, this way of thinking was framed in the concept of One Health, which can be defined as the integrative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. At present, the One Health approach is the worldwide standard to combat zoonotic diseases. In an ideal world such a strategy should lead to a better health for humans, animals and our environment.However, in practice it is not self-evident that a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control is actually in the interest of animals or the environment. As we have seen during the Q-fever outbreak in the Netherlands (2007-2012) zoonotic disease control can lead to ethical questions. Not only because conflicts of interest can arise between human centered values like public health and economy. If we really understand One Health as a call to promote the health of humans as well as the health of animals and the environment, the current practice of zoonotic disease control is often morally problematic. From a holistic One Health perspective it is, for example, difficult to accept economically driven nonvaccination policies, that lead to culling of healthy animals. The same goes for long term confinement of free range poultry, whose housing systems are often not suitable for this purpose, to prevent avian influenza outbreaks. Or antimicrobial reduction policies that lead to higher disease incidence and mortality in animals. These ethical considerations formed the start of this thesis.The aim of my research is to clarify the ethical assumptions of a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control, to explore how these can be coherently understood and ethically justified and to indicate what this implies for policymaking. This has led to my overall research question: how should a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control be conceived and justified from an ethical perspective? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Existing Ethical Tensions in Xenotransplantation.

The genetic modification of pigs as a source of transplantable organs is one of several possible solutions to the chronic organ shortage. This paper describes existing ethical tensions in xenotransplantation (XTx) that argue against pursuing it. Recommendations for lifelong infectious disease surveillance and notification of close contacts of recipients are in tension with the rights of human research subjects. Parental/guardian consent for pediatric xenograft recipients is in tension with a child's right to an open future. Individual consent to transplant is in tension with public health threats that include zoonotic diseases. XTx amplifies concerns about justice in organ transplantation and could exacerbate existing inequities. The prevention of infectious disease in source animals is in tension with the best practices of animal care and animal welfare, requiring isolation, ethologically inappropriate housing, and invasive reproductive procedures that would severely impact the well-being of intelligent social creatures like pigs.

Projecting vaccine demand and impact for emerging zoonotic pathogens.

BACKGROUND: Despite large outbreaks in humans seeming improbable for a number of zoonotic pathogens, several pose a concern due to their epidemiological characteristics and evolutionary potential. To enable effective responses to these pathogens in the event that they undergo future emergence, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is advancing the development of vaccines for several pathogens prioritized by the World Health Organization. A major challenge in this pursuit is anticipating demand for a vaccine stockpile to support outbreak response. METHODS: We developed a modeling framework for outbreak response for emerging zoonoses under three reactive vaccination strategies to assess sustainable vaccine manufacturing needs, vaccine stockpile requirements, and the potential impact of the outbreak response. This framework incorporates geographically variable zoonotic spillover rates, human-to-human transmission, and the implementation of reactive vaccination campaigns in response to disease outbreaks. As proof of concept, we applied the framework to four priority pathogens: Lassa virus, Nipah virus, MERS coronavirus, and Rift Valley virus. RESULTS: Annual vaccine regimen requirements for a population-wide strategy ranged from > 670,000 (95% prediction interval 0-3,630,000) regimens for Lassa virus to 1,190,000 (95% PrI 0-8,480,000) regimens for Rift Valley fever virus, while the regimens required for ring vaccination or targeting healthcare workers (HCWs) were several orders of magnitude lower (between 1/25 and 1/700) than those required by a population-wide strategy. For each pathogen and vaccination strategy, reactive vaccination typically prevented fewer than 10% of cases, because of their presently low R0 values. Targeting HCWs had a higher per-regimen impact than population-wide vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: Our framework provides a flexible methodology for estimating vaccine stockpile needs and the geographic distribution of demand under a range of outbreak response scenarios. Uncertainties in our model estimates highlight several knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to target vulnerable populations more accurately. These include surveillance gaps that mask the true geographic distribution of each pathogen, details of key routes of spillover from animal reservoirs to humans, and the role of human-to-human transmission outside of healthcare settings. In addition, our estimates are based on the current epidemiology of each pathogen, but pathogen evolution could alter vaccine stockpile requirements.

The importance of biodiversity risks: Link to zoonotic diseases

This paper follows on from the initial position paper on The Importance of Biodiversity Risks, prepared by the Biodiversity and Natural Capital Working party, a volunteer group working under the Sustainability Board. This paper explores the link between zoonotic disease and biodiversity loss and aims to raise awareness and discussion within the actuarial community on why this should be an important consideration in risk management. This paper focuses on how zoonotic diseases emerge, how they are linked to biodiversity loss, the potential impacts in the future and progress within the financial sector. This paper forms part of a collection of papers prepared by volunteers under the Sustainability Board that focus on different elements of biodiversity risk considerations. © 2022 Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.

Biodiversity Loss and Human Vulnerability to Zoonotic Infectious Diseases: Humans, Stories, and Environment

Purpose/Context. The exponential growth of zoonotic diseases has dramatically affected the world population in recent years. In turn, an eventual loss of biodiversity will increase the level of human vulnerability to zoonotic infectious diseases. This article aims to provide some inputs for understanding how the loss of biodiversity due to human economic activity favors the transmission of zoonotic infectious diseases and thus increases the vulnerability level of our species against this threat. Methodology/Approach. We performed a critical analysis of the presentations in four events of the Open Lecture in Bioethics, Special Version 2020-1, entitled "Environment, Humans, and Pandemic," organized by the Bioethics Department, Universidad El Bosque. Besides, we systematically compiled several articles from three of the most critical bioethics databases worldwide: Bioethics Research Library, Bioethics, and German Reference Center for Ethics in the Life Science. Results/Findings. We could identify the pressing need to restore the relationships between nature and human beings around life, based on changes in the intersub-jective, interspecific (humans with other species), and environmental relationships. Discussion/Conclusions/Contributions. The actions of human beings against the dynamic ecosystem balance are harmful to themselves and adversely affect other species, thus worsening human exposure to zoonotic infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

From bats to pangolins: new insights into species differences in the structure and function of the immune system.

Species differences in the structure and function of the immune system of laboratory animals are known to exist and have been reviewed extensively. However, the number and diversity of wild and exotic species, along with their associated viruses, that come into contact with humans has increased worldwide sometimes with lethal consequences. Far less is known about the immunobiology of these exotic and wild species. Data suggest that species differences of the mechanisms of inflammation, innate immunity and adaptive immunity are all involved in the establishment and maintenance of viral infections across reservoir hosts. The current review attempts to collect relevant data concerning the basics of innate and adaptive immune functions of exotic and wild species followed by identification of those differences that may play a role in the maintenance of viral infections in reservoir hosts.

Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic for Systemic Risk Assessment and Management

The COVID-19 pandemic has activated hundreds of interdependent long-lasting risks across all sectors of society. Zoonotic diseases are on the rise, fuelled by climatic change, by encroachment and destruction of habitats, and by unsustainable practices. Risk assessment and management must be greatly improved to prevent even worse consequences than COVID-19 if the next pandemic is caused by an agent with higher infectiousness and lethality. Insights from a project on systemic pandemic risk management reveal that the interdependency of risks creates cascading effects mediated by millions of vicious cycles which must be addressed to gain control over a pandemic. We propose a method for systemic, cross-sectoral risk assessment that detects the myriad of causal influences resulting from the risks, allowing to identify and mitigate the most potent risks, i.e., those participating in the highest numbers of vicious loops. © 2022, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.

Questioning The Early Events Leading To The Covid-19 Pandemic

Sixteen months after the January 30, 2020 declaration by the World Health Organization of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern regarding the spread of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 had infected ~ 170 million humans world-wide of which > 3.5 million had died. We critically examine information on the virus origin, when and where the first human cases occurred, and point to differences between Chinese and later clinical presentations. The official patient Zero was hospitalized in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on December 8, 2019, but retrospective analyses demonstrate prior viral circulation. Coronaviruses are present in mammals and birds, but whether a wild animal (e.g. bat, pangolin) was the source of the human pandemic remains disputed. We present two contamination models, the spillover versus the circulation model;the latter brings some interesting hypotheses about previous SARS-CoV-2 virus circulation in the human population. The age distribution of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at the start of the epidemic differed between China and the USA–EU;Chinese hospitalized patients were notably younger. The first Chinese publications did not describe anosmia-dysgeusia, a cardinal symptom of COVID-19 in Europe and USA. The prominent endothelial involvement linked with thrombotic complications was discovered later. These clinical discrepancies might suggest an evolution of the virus. © 2021,Health Risk Analysis.All Rights Reserved.

One Health and human health

The "One Health" concept emphasizes interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-regional communication and cooperation to achieve unity of health for humans, animals, and the environment. The One Health strategy is designed to provide early warning and effective preventative monitoring for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Since the avian flu crisis in the Asia-Pacific region, the World Organization for Animal Health and the World Health Organization have been working together to provide strong leadership to endorse the One Health concept and promote interagency and intersectoral collaboration. While the COVID-19 epidemic has been a major disaster for mankind, it has also resulted in a broad consensus on the concept of One Health among governments and international organizations, emphasizing action to jointly deal with common problems facing human health. Climate change, fragmentation and pollution of habitats, and the consequent loss of biodiversity and degradation of the natural environment threaten Earth's ecosystems. These changes also drive the emergence of infectious diseases, with negative health outcomes for humans, animals, and the environment. Historically, interventions in human and agricultural health problems did not always consider wildlife or environmental health, which has led to unintended consequences. One Health recognizes the interdependence of humans, animals, and the environment, and provides a conceptual framework for the development of interventions to optimize outcomes for human-animal-environmental health. However, it is necessary to clearly articulate the core values, goals, and objectives of One Health for all relevant sectors to maximize synergies in communication, coordination, collaboration, and, ultimately, joint action on disease control and prevention. The application of systems and harm reduction methods, focusing on the socio-economic and environmental determinants of health and ensuring good governance and effective leadership, will also maximize the opportunities to create "win-win" solutions for global health and environmental challenges. These solutions will help drive One Health to achieve its full potential and optimize health outcomes for all. In recent decades, One Health has become increasingly recognized around the world-i.e., that supporting a multisectoral, collaborative One Health strategy is the best way to address health threats at the human-animal-environmental level. The One Health method is increasingly popular in the context of the growing threats of climate change, emerging zoonoses, and antimicrobial drug resistance. During the last decade, country after country has implemented the One Health method and has shown benefits;the concept of One Health has become the international standard for zoonotic disease control. This call for transdisciplinary collaboration among professionals in human, animal, and environmental health has achieved multiple successes in zoonotic disease control, surveillance, and research. This article gives an overview of the development and application of One Health in addressing current issues, including emerging infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, environmental health, and foodborne diseases. © 2022, Science Press. All right reserved.

Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Previously Undescribed Bat Coronavirus Strains in Eswatini.

We investigated the prevalence of coronaviruses in 44 bats from four families in northeastern Eswatini using high-throughput sequencing of fecal samples. We found evidence of coronaviruses in 18% of the bats. We recovered full or near-full-length genomes from two bat species: Chaerephon pumilus and Afronycteris nana, as well as additional coronavirus genome fragments from C. pumilus, Epomophorus wahlbergi, Mops condylurus, and Scotophilus dinganii. All bats from which we detected coronaviruses were captured leaving buildings or near human settlements, demonstrating the importance of continued surveillance of coronaviruses in bats to better understand the prevalence, diversity, and potential risks for spillover.

Ecological countermeasures for preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks: when ecological restoration is a human health imperative.

Ecological restoration should be regarded as a public health service. Unfortunately, the lack of quantitative linkages between environmental and human health has limited recognition of this principle. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic provides the impetus for further discussion. We propose ecological countermeasures as highly targeted, landscape-based interventions to arrest the drivers of land use-induced zoonotic spillover. We provide examples of ecological restoration activities that reduce zoonotic disease risk and a five-point action plan at the human-ecosystem health nexus. In conclusion, we make the case that ecological countermeasures are a tenet of restoration ecology with human health goals.