15 mei 2008

(Press release EASAC) Most new human pathogens reported in the past 25 years, such as influenza and SARS, have zoonotic origins. The risk of zoonotic infection, that is any infection transmissible between vertebrate animals and humans, is predicted to continue to increase.

The European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) today publishes a policy report giving evidence-based recommendations on how to combat the threat of zoonotic infections for man and animals.

Sixty percent of infectious agents known to be pathogenic for humans are zoonotic. They can be viral, bacterial, parasitic, fungal or prion-related. Moreover, a broad range of animal reservoirs and transmission routes have been identified, not to forget food-borne infection.

Progress has been made in the EU on combating zoonoses: in recognising that emerging zoonoses are a problem for Europe, in integrating activity between the human and veterinary sectors, in supporting global strategic activity and in building reserach networks. However, there is still much more to do to tackle the opportunities and challenges associated with zoonotic infections. An EASAC working group chaired by Volker ter Meulen, president of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, presents in strategies against zoonoses in the report Combating the threat of zoonotic infections.

The recommendations cover key issues for public health, research and innovation policy. They require action at the level both of the European Institutions and Member States:

• Epidemiology, surveillance and the monitoring of risk. The authors recognise that much has already been achieved by the European Commission in creating expert surveillance networks but continuing needs, like improving standardisation of data collection and procedures for data mining are emphasised.
• International co-operation. The authors urge the European Commission and Parliament to provide support for international initiatives such as the Global Early Warning System for zoonoses.
• Research and education. Currently, significant deficits exist in the research coverage that should be funded at the European level. In particular, the authors recommend that areas for further consideration should include capitalising on new research opportunities coming within range for the investigator-driven study of basic science, for example the mechanisms of interspecies transmission, host adaptation, pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance.
• Innovation. To mobilise financial resources in support of research excellence, the authors recommend to EU policy-makers to stimulate the environment to encourage investment in new diagnostic products, for example a diagnostic chip with broad virology coverage.

The report can be downloaded.

This it the fourth EASAC policy report on infectious diseases:

• Infectious diseases - importance of co-ordinated activity in Europe (2005)
• Vaccines: innovation and human health (2006)
• Tackling antibacterial resistance in Europe (2007).

About EASAC 

EASAC - the European Academies Science Advisory Council - is formed by the national science academies of the EU Member States to enable them to collaborate with each other in providing advice to European policy-makers. EASAC provides a means for the collective voice of European science to be heard.