Zoonotic

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Zoonotic Emerging Infectious Disease

• Impacts on Biodiversity Conservation
• Conservation Linkages

Africa Biodiversity Collaborative
Group Washington, DC August 2008
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Overview

• Background
• Impacts on Biodiversity Conservation
• Threat Reduction Strategies What the
  Conservation Community Can Do

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• 61 of all infectious organisms known to be
  pathogenic to humans are zoonotic, readily
  transmissible between human and animal
  populations
• Approximately 75 of recent emerging infectious
  diseases have been zoonoses

Avian Influenza Virus
Ebola Virus
Anthrax
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Emerging or Reemerging Zoonoses in Africa

• Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus (H5N1)
• Ebola virus
• Monkeypox virus
• Bovine Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis)
• Rift Valley fever virus
• Simian Foamy virus

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• Human-Livestock-Wildlife interface shapes the
  dynamics of disease emergence
• Factors Contributing to Disease Emergence
• Deforestation, land degradation, climate change
  and loss of wildlife habitat
• Rising demand for animal protein
• Expected to increase 50 by 2020 (IFPRI)
• Global trade in wildlife
• gt 1 billion incidents of contact annually amongst
  humans, domestic animals and wildlife (Karesh WB,
  et. al.. Emerging Infectious Diseases. July 2005)

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Emerging Disease Impacts on Biodiversity
Conservation

• Animal populations are under heightened pressure
  to survive, and further loss of biodiversity is
  highly probable. (One Health Initiative Task
  Force Report. JAVMA. July 2008)
• Impacts on Wildlife
• Impacts on Public Health
• Impacts on Livelihoods, Food Security and
  Sustainable Economic Development

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Impacts on Wildlife

• Direct threats to wildlife health

• Rabies in Serengeti National Parks African wild
  dog (Lycaon pictus) population
• Potential spillback to domestic animal human
  populations

• May 2005, Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve (China)
  H5N1 avian influenza outbreak
• estimates of 5-10 of worlds population of
  Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus) lost to AI virus

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Impacts on Wildlife

• Losses attributable to the bushmeat trade
• Livestock lost to disease may push higher rates
  of bushmeat consumption
• Bushmeat hunting may facilitate disease emergence

N. Kumpel
A.Asamoah/GWS
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Impacts on Wildlife

• Loss of biodiversity
• Central Africa Bushmeat industry accounts loss
  of gt579 million animals annually (Karesh et al.
  2005)
• Infectious disease has the potential to
• Push already threatened species rapidly toward
  local population extinction
• Reduce genetic variability essential for
  population health
• Provoke follow-on effects in interdependent
  species within a microenvironment
• Incite fear or panic leading to calls for
  wildlife culls or habitat destruction as a
  disease control strategy

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Impacts on Public Health

• Zoonotic threats to human health
• Risks attributable to
• Livestock-dependent livelihoods
• Proximity to wildlife/wildlife products
• Costs
• Loss of income generating capacity
• Inability to pay school fees secure dietary
  staples
• Transport to a health care facility/clinic
• Medical treatment
• Caretaking demands upon family
• Possibility of disease transmission to family

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Impacts on Public Health

• Loss of conservation capacity
• Human resources already weakened by AIDS are
  particularly vulnerable
• Potential loss of local and indigenous knowledge,
  skills and experience
• Costs of disease control measures
• Livestock culls, quarantines, diagnostic tests,
  vaccination
• Represent resources unavailable to conservation
  initiatives

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Impacts on Livelihoods, Food Security and
Economic Development

• Loss of income and threatened food security
• 70 of worlds rural poor--in Africa 200
  million--derive their livelihoods from livestock
• Loss of livestock/reduced livestock productivity
  threatens income generation protein
  availability
• Impacts along the market chain livestock
  holders, traders, fodder producers, butchers,
  market vendors
• Intensified land utilization pressure on
  natural resources charcoal making/timber,
  bushmeat, fishing, agricultural encroachment
  along protected areas

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HPAI Poultry Consumption

• Loss of Domestic Poultry
• Poultry illness/loss of productivity
• Poultry death
• Poultry culls

Poultry Consumption Fears
Kenya 30 million chickens, 80 raised
traditionally by small holders 2-3
chickens/rural household

• Loss of income
• Inability to pay for school fees, medicine,
  dietary staples
• Loss of protein nutrition

Tanzania 27 million chickens, 70 raised
traditionally by small holders
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Impacts on Economic Development

• Restricted economic growth
• Export embargoes/trade restrictions
• Potential losses to the commercial livestock
  industry
• Pandemic emergence threats
• Projected Pandemic Influenza Costs
• 10-180 million deaths worldwide
• Economic Impact 2-3.1 of global GDP (gt2
  trillion USD) (World Bank)
• Threats to sustainable ecotourism initiatives
• Kenya Tanzania wildlife based ecotourism
  generates half a billion USD annually (Chomel B,
  et al. Emerging Infectious Diseases. January
  2007)
• Community revenue sharing/park budgets threatened
  by disease-induced tourism declines

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Threat Reduction Strategies

• Conservation of Wildlife Habitat
• Disease impact assessments prior to resource
  extraction
• Disease Surveillance and Rapid Diagnosis
• Wild Bird Global Avian Influenza Network for
  Surveillance (GAINS)
• Expand successful community-based disease
  surveillance programs
• UKs RADAR (Rapid Analysis and Detection of
  Animal Related Risks)
• Education, Training, and Outreach
• Risks associated with the bushmeat trade
• Personal biosafety
• Media outreach
• Promote sound (livestock vaccination/behavior
  change) vs. unsound (wildlife culls) disease
  control strategies

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Threat Reduction Strategies

• Preparedness and Response Planning
• Design contingency plans to protect staff and
  conservation capacity in the event of a disease
  outbreak/pandemic event
• Food Security
• Encourage diversified sourcing of dietary protein
• Engaging private sector for low-cost commercial
  solutions
• Alternative Livelihoods Opportunities and
  Economic Stability
• Diversified livestock/agricultural
  production/social service businesses
• Broad-based programs addressing poverty,
  malnutrition and bolstering public health (clean
  drinking water) improved resiliency to disease
  events reduced pressure on wildlife/land/natural
  resources
• Multi-Disciplinary Approach