As infectious diseases keep the State Health Department on its toes, experts call for policy changes to implement the inter-disciplinary One Health approach to control them.
“The current outbreak of Nipah viral infection and the outbreak of Avian influenza during 2015-16 clearly indicate that new zoonotic threats are emerging in the State. More emphasis should be given on an inter-disciplinary approach to surveillance and control of diseases,” says T.P. Sethumadhavan, former Director of Entrepreneurship, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).
“The State urgently requires state-of-the-art viral disease diagnostic centres, including high security virology lab,” he points out.
Of the total viral diseases, 75 per cent are zoonotic in nature.
The Nipah infection is a sporadic incidence. Chances for further spread of the infection is comparatively low taking into account the epidemiological analysis of the disease during the past two decades. But sufficient biosecurity and disease control measures were the need of the hour, he adds.
“Across the world, the concept of One Health for human beings, animals, and nature is emerging. This concept will address all the health-care issues on a sustainable basis. Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University had launched a One Health centre, COHEART (Centre for One Healthy Advocacy Research and Training), to popularise this concept,” says B. Sunil, Professor, Department of public health, KVSU, Mannuthy.
The One Health initiative promotes collaboration between the fields of medicine, veterinary medicine, and environmental sciences to improve the interconnected health of people, animals, and ecosystems.
“Only by studying the human-animal-environmental interface will we be able to get to the root of the outbreak. Human and animal health benefits a lot by this approach. It results in great economic benefits as diseases are tackled and prevented at source,” said Dr. Sunil.
Hosts
Experts say Nipah virus can be transmitted through bats, pigs, cats, dogs, cattle, and horse. Contamination through infected animals and human beings will facilitate the spread of infection.
Veterinarians stressed adoption of scientific animal-rearing practices to prevent such infections. In areas where the infection was reported, milk and water should be properly boiled before consumption. Fruits from bat-infested trees should not be consumed, and it was better to avoid fruits from other Asian countries where incidence of the disease was prevalent, they said.
Sporadic infection would not scale up if appropriate control measures were practised, Dr. Sethumadhavan said.
