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Faced with the risk of viral zoonoses – these infectious diseases which are transmitted from animals to humans – the National Academy of Medicine has created an “information watch” for the attention of health professionals and public authorities.
Since 1940, 60% of emerging infectious diseases have been of animal origin and 2/3 of them come from wildlife. In this context, the National Academy of Medicine deemed it necessary to create an unprecedented and informative watch on the risk of viral zoonoses.
A “watch” that warns of the risks of zoonosis
This international monitoring, for the attention of doctors, scientists, researchers, health professionals, information and public authorities, should allow access to news on the disease and to be immediately warned of any alert or risk. . The publications, mainly in English and French, are updated every 15 days.
“60% of current infectious diseases in humans are zoonoses. We cannot treat human health without worrying about animal health and vice versa”reminds the Scientific Director of Animal Health and Welfare at ANSES.
The sources are taken from major national catalogues, scientific and medical databases, publications from learned societies, research institutes and academies, and institutional and academic websites.
In addition, the selection of articles is carried out by a team of six experts.
Zoonoses: fragile people are the most affected
As a reminder, the term “zoonosis” includes a wide variety of diseases: some affect the digestive system (salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis), others the respiratory system (avian and swine flu, coronavirus), the liver (hepatitis E virus) , the nervous system (rabies, West Nile) or several organs at the same time.
The severity of these diseases varies greatly. It happens that certain pathogens, particularly virulent, kill people with fragile immune systems such as immunocompromised patients, children, the elderly, or even pregnant women.
The modes of transmission are once again quite varied:
- Some viruses, parasites or bacteria are transmitted during direct contact between humans and animals (rabies virus, avian flu);
- Some pathogens are transmitted through the environment (contaminated water, contaminated soil, concentration of animals in closed places, etc.);
- Others are transmitted by the consumption of contaminated food of animal origin or by excreta (salmonella, toxoplasma, anisakis parasitic worm, etc.);
- Finally, some zoonoses are transmitted by insect vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks (Lyme disease, West Nile virus).
Another interesting point: some viruses or parasites can be transmitted directly from human to human, without going through the animal.