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Thursday, October 19, 2023

Pandemic prevention consortium announces new leadership team

STOP Spillover is strengthening our capacity to reduce the risks of emerging pathogens

TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Recognizing the many milestones it has reached in recent months, Strategies to Prevent Spillover, or STOP Spillover, a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and led by Tufts University, has announced that the interim leadership team that was put in place in March 2023 will take on a permanent role for the next two years of the project.

Hellen Amuguni, an associate professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, is the new project director. The co-deputy directors are Felicia Nutter, director of the International Veterinary Medicine Program at Cummings School, and Jonathon Gass, an assistant professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the School of Medicine. (Amuguni and Nutter have secondary appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine, and Gass has a secondary appointment at Cummings School.)

“We are entering the fourth year of STOP Spillover on a high note, and our vision for the project remains clear,” says Amuguni. “Our focus is to build capacity and prepare countries to identify high-risk interfaces, control zoonotic diseases at their source before they become epidemics or pandemics, and develop interventions that reduce risks of exposure in human populations. We are privileged to work closely with amazing country teams and government counterparts as well as our consortium partners who bring expertise in wildlife health, infectious diseases, social and behavior change.”

At least 75 percent of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of humans—including Ebola, Nipah virus, and zoonotic avian flu—have an animal origin. Chances are that when the next illness like COVID-19 emerges to threaten global health, it will originate in animals before it passes to humans, a process known as spillover. STOP Spillover aims to keep that tipping point from happening, or at least mitigate the dangerous effects.

“STOP Spillover has achieved so much in its third year thanks to these directors, who have been working with stakeholders in key countries in Africa and Asia to find ways to decrease the risks of harmful viral pathogens that jump—or spill over—from animals to humans,” said Caroline Genco, Tufts’ provost and senior vice president, who is also an immunologist. “Through this important work, our expert researchers and community partners demonstrate our shared commitment to One Health as a way of mitigating the significant global risk represented by zoonotic disease spillover.”

Leading a Global Consortium of Regional Partners

Begun in late 2020, STOP Spillover has so far partnered with colleagues in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Uganda, Viet Nam, and Sierra Leone to strengthen country capacities to reduce the risks of zoonotic diseases, or those that move between animals and humans. Teams of experts collaborate to develop country- and locality-specific research studies and interventions to reduce risks associated with selected viral zoonotic pathogens and to prevent their spread.

USAID administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide. For this project, Tufts leads a global consortium of partners with cross-disciplinary experience and regional knowledge.

From the outset, this consortium of experts in human, animal, and environmental health has been heavily focused on engagement, working with stakeholders at the national, regional, and local levels to reduce risks of exposure to and mitigate the spread of selected zoonotic viral pathogens, including coronaviruses, filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg viruses), avian influenza, and Lassa virus, among others.

Protecting Health and Providing Financial Stability

On the ground at the local level—in places such as wildlife farms in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, and wild animal meat markets in Kenema, Sierra Leone—community-led workshops have provided important data about the interactions humans have with wild and domestic animals in these settings, as well as the barriers they see to behavior changes that reduce spillover risk.

Gass, who recently visited wildlife farms in Viet Nam with its in-country team, said that STOP Spillover is filling major gaps in understanding the spillover ecosystem, which will improve conditions for both animals and humans.

Gass noted that wildlife farmers, government officials, and other stakeholders are very interested in working together to increase biosafety. “Farming practices are critical for the financial livelihoods of farmers and their families,” he said. “When outbreaks occur on farms and the animals either die or need to be culled, this has serious financial repercussions. STOP Spillover’s interventions will not only protect health but also provide increased financial stability via risk reduction.”

The program has formed local expert working groups to identify places where spillover is most likely to occur and to design risk-reduction interventions. In Liberia, for example, STOP Spillover is conducting research to understand Lassa virus distribution in rodent reservoir hosts both within what is considered the “Lassa belt” and beyond. Working with the Ministry of Health, National Public Health Lab, the Ministry of Agriculture, and local communities, teams are collecting and testing samples from the African soft-furred mouse and other rodents for the presence of Lassa virus RNA (an indication of infection) within and outside of the Lassa belt.

The documentation of the true distribution of Lassa virus in reservoir hosts will allow the country to better understand the risks to humans, develop more effective rodent control strategies, and inform future research, policy, and public health measures.

Technology and Space Redesign for Biosafety

At live bird markets in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the threat of highly pathogenic avian influenza is a concern, efforts are underway to develop a coordinated and sustainable platform for pathogen surveillance and data sharing. A mobile application has been developed, enabling the public to report sick and dead poultry as well as sudden febrile illness among market vendors. Moreover, the STOP Spillover team is working with public health experts and engineers to redesign market spaces so that biosafety is optimized, and consumer and vendor health protected.

In Côte d’Ivoire, Cambodia, and Liberia, teams have been trained to safely collect samples for surveillance of wastewater and liquid waste effluent, with potential testing for multiple zoonotic viruses. The aim is to create a surveillance system that can act as an “early warning system” for potential spillover events.

The program exemplifies the One Health concept: the interconnection of human, animal, and environmental health. “STOP Spillover continues the longstanding work of Tufts University, mainstreaming One Health approaches to address complex, globally important health problems, including zoonotic diseases,” said Felicia Nutter.

“Humans make choices every day that impact our health, the health of other animals, and the ecosystems and environments that we all share. Our current work empowers people to make more informed choices that safeguard our shared health,” said Nutter.

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

New report from Harvard and global experts shows investments in nature needed to stop the next pandemic

Protecting forests and changing agricultural practices are essential, cost-effective actions to prevent pandemics

Reports and Proceedings

HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Boston, Mass. - As the world struggles to contain COVID-19, a group of leading, scientific experts from the U.S., Latin America, Africa and South Asia released a report today outlining the strong scientific foundations for taking actions to stop the next pandemic by preventing the spillover of pathogens from animals to people. The report provides recommendations for research and actions to forestall new pandemics that have largely been absent from high-level discussions about prevention, including a novel call to integrate conservation actions with strengthening healthcare systems globally.

The report from the International Scientific Task Force to Prevent Pandemics at the Source makes the case that investments in outbreak control, such as diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines, are critical but inadequate to address pandemic risk. These findings come as COVID-19 vaccinations availability in many low- and middle-income countries remains inadequate—and even in wealthier nations vaccine coverage is far from reaching levels needed to control the Delta variant.

“To manage COVID-19, we have already spent more than $6 trillion dollars on what may turn out to be the most expensive band aids ever bought, and no matter how much we spend on vaccines, they can never fully inoculate us from future pandemics,” said Dr. Aaron Bernstein, interim director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and leader of the Scientific Task Force for Preventing Pandemics at the Source. “We must take actions that prevent pandemics from starting by stopping the spillover of diseases from animals to humans. When we do, we can also help stabilize the planet’s climate and revitalize its biosphere, each of which is essential to our health and economic welfare.”

Previous research by Dr. Bernstein and colleagues found that the costs of preventing the next pandemic—by reducing deforestation and regulating the wildlife trade—are as little as $22 billion a year, 2% of the economic and mortality costs of responding to COVID-19.

The task force found that spillover of possible pandemic pathogens occurs from livestock operations; wildlife hunting and trade; land use change—and the destruction of tropical forests in particular; expansion of agricultural lands, especially near human settlements; and rapid, unplanned urbanization. Climate change is also shrinking habitats and pushing animals on land and sea to move to new places, creating opportunities for pathogens to enter new hosts.

Agriculture is associated with greater than 50% of zoonotic infectious diseases that have emerged in humans since 1940. With human population growing, and food insecurity on the rise because of the pandemic, investments in sustainable agriculture and in the prevention of crop and food waste are critical to reduce biodiversity losses, conserve water resources, and prevent further land use change while promoting food security and economic welfare.

A key recommendation from the task force calls for leveraging investments in healthcare system strengthening and One Health to jointly advance conservation, animal and human health, and spillover prevention. A successful example of this integrated model comes from Borneo where a decade of work resulted in ∼70% reduction in deforestation and provided health care access to more than 28,400 patients and substantial decreases in diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and common diseases of childhood.

Additional recommendations for investments and research include:

Investment priorities:

Conserve tropical forests, especially in relatively intact forests as well as those that have been fragmented.
Improve biosecurity for livestock and farmed wild animals, especially when animal husbandry occurs near large or rapidly expanding human populations.
Establish an intergovernmental partnership to address spillover risk from wild animals to livestock and people from aligned organizations such as FAO, WHO, OIE, UNEP, and Wildlife Enforcement Networks.
In low- and middle-income countries, leverage investments to strengthen healthcare systems and One Health platforms to jointly advance conservation, animal and human health, and spillover prevention.

Research priorities:

Establish which interventions, including those focused on forest conservation, wildlife hunting and trade, and biosecurity around farms, are most effective at spillover prevention.
Assess the economic, ecological, long term viability and social welfare impacts of interventions aimed at reducing spillover. Include cost-benefit analysis that considers the full scope of benefits that can come from spillover prevention in economic analyses.
Refine our understanding of where pandemics are likely to emerge, including assessments of pandemic drivers like governance, travel, and population density.
Continue viral discovery in wildlife to ascertain the breadth of potential pathogens and improve genotype-phenotype associations that can enable spillover risk and virulence assessments.

The task force was convened by Harvard Chan C-CHANGE and the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI). The findings laid out in their inaugural report will be translated into international policy recommendations to inform the G20 summit in October and the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November.

###

About Harvard Chan C-CHANGE

The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE) increases public awareness of the health impacts of climate change and uses science to make it personal, actionable, and urgent. Led by Dr. Aaron Bernstein, the Center leverages Harvard’s cutting-edge research to inform policies, technologies, and products that reduce air pollution and other causes of climate change. By making climate change personal, highlighting solutions, and emphasizing the important role we all play in driving change, Harvard Chan C-CHANGE puts health outcomes at the center of climate actions. To learn more visit https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/.

About Harvard Global Health Institute

The Harvard Global Health Institute is committed to surfacing and addressing some of the most persistent challenges in human health. We believe that the solutions to these problems will be drawn from within and beyond the medicine and public health spheres to encompass design, law, policy, business, and other fields. At HGHI, we harness the unique breadth of excellence within Harvard and are a dedicated partner to organizations, governments, scholars, and committed citizens around the globe. We convene diverse perspectives, identify gaps, design new learning opportunities, and advise policy makers to advance health equity for all. You can learn more at globalhealth.harvard.edu.

ARTICLE TITLE

Report of the Scientific Task Force on Preventing Pandemics

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-Aug-2021

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Warming climate may boost Arctic

"virus spillover" risk, research shows

CBSNews

Wed, October 19, 2022

A warming climate could bring viruses in the Arctic into contact with new environments and hosts, increasing the risk of "viral spillover," according to research published Wednesday. Viruses need hosts like humans, animals, plants or fungi to replicate and spread, and occasionally they can jump to a new one that lacks immunity, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scientists in Canada wanted to investigate how climate change might affect spillover risk by examining samples from the Arctic landscape of Lake Hazen.

It is the largest lake in the world entirely north of the Arctic Circle, and "was truly unlike any other place I've been," researcher Graham Colby, now a medical student at University of Toronto, told AFP.

This handout picture taken on May 29, 2017 and made available by Graham Colby on October 17, 2022 shows researchers drilling holes to collect sediment at the Lake Hazen in Nunavut, to investigate how climate change might increase the risk of

The team sampled soil that becomes a riverbed for melted glacier water in the summer, as well as the lakebed itself -- which required clearing snow and drilling through two meters of ice, even in May when the research was carried out.

They used ropes and a snowmobile to lift the lake sediment through almost 300 meters of water, and samples were then sequenced for DNA and RNA, the genetic blueprints and messengers of life.

"This enabled us to know what viruses are in a given environment, and what potential hosts are also present," said Stephane Aris-Brosou, an associate professor in the University of Ottawa's biology department, who led the work.

But to find out how likely they were to jump hosts, the team needed to examine the equivalent of each virus and host's family tree.

"Basically what we tried to do is measure how similar these trees are," said Audree Lemieux, first author of the research.

Similar genealogies suggest a virus has evolved along with its host, but differences suggest spillover.

And if a virus has jumped hosts once, it is more likely to do so again.

"Should climate change also shift species range of potential viral vectors and reservoirs northwards, the High Arctic could become fertile ground for emerging pandemics," the researchers wrote in Proceedings B, the Royal Society's biological research journal.

Scientists Wake Up Ancient Viruses Unknown to Medicine

Feb 24, 2020

The Infographics Show

Scientists uncover ancient prehistoric viruses hidden for centuries inside Tibetan glaciers that could be potentially life threatening for all humanity. These viruses laid dormant inside the ice but scientists were able to wake them up and they are unlike any virus humanity has ever seen.

"It's really unpredictable"

The analysis found pronounced differences between viruses and hosts in the lakebed, "which is directly correlated to the risk of spillover," said Aris-Brosou.

The difference was less stark in the riverbeds, which the researchers theorize is because water erodes the topsoil, removing organisms and limiting interactions between viruses and potential new hosts.

Those instead wash into the lake, which has seen "dramatic change" in recent years, the study says, as increased water from melting glaciers deposits more sediment.

"That's going to bring together hosts and viruses that would not normally encounter each other," Lemieux said.

The authors of the research, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences journal, caution they are neither forecasting an actual spillover nor a pandemic.

"The likelihood of dramatic events remains very low," Lemieux said.

They also warn more work is needed to clarify how big the difference between viruses and hosts needs to be to create serious spillover risk.

"Disentangling this risk from actual spillovers and pandemics will be a critical endeavour to pursue in parallel with surveillance activities, in order to mitigate the impact of spillovers on economy and health-related aspects of human life, or on other species," the researchers wrote.

They argue that warming weather could increase risks further if new potential hosts move into previously inhospitable regions.

"It could be anything from ticks to mosquitoes to certain animals, to bacteria and viruses themselves," said Lemieux.

"It's really unpredictable... and the effect of spillover itself is very unpredictable, it can range from benign to an actual pandemic."

The team wants more research and surveillance work in the region to understand the risks.

"Obviously we've seen in the past two years what the effects of spillover can be," said Lemieux.

Friday, July 26, 2024

Alarming spread of H5N1 bird flu in US dairy cattle reveals cross-species transmission dangers

By Hugo Francisco de SouzaReviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Jul 25 2024

In a recent study published in the journal Nature, scientists in the United States report the spillover of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus in cattle across several United States (US) regions. They further document the detailed symptomatic outcomes of the resulting disease in these bovine populations. Finally, they use a multidisciplinary approach incorporating epidemiological and genomic analyses to highlight that the virus's evolution confers the ability to allow for not only cow-to-cow transmission but also efficient multidirectional interspecies spillover, infecting birds, domestic cats, and even a raccoon in proximity to diseased cattle.

Study: Spillover of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus to dairy cattle. Image Credit: Studio Romantic / Shutterstock

Background

Influenza A virus (IAV) H5Nx is a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus causing widespread respiratory illness and subsequent death in bird populations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and most recently North America. First discovered in China in 1996, the colloquially termed 'bird flu' has since evolved into eight clades and three neuraminidase subtypes, with the H5N1 subtype 2.3.4.4b being its most prevalent and epidemiologically relevant representative.

HPAI H5N1 is alarming, given its potential for spillover (cross-species infectivity). It has been reported to be transmitted from infected poultry populations into wild birds (2002), mammals (domesticated and wild), and even humans (2003). The World Health Organization (WHO) documented 860 human infections and more than 430 deaths since 2003 (fatality rate ~52.8%).

The virus poses significant threats to ecology, economy, and public health, having claimed more than 90 million bird lives in the United States (US) alone. The most recent H5N1-associated morbidity event was that of dairy cattle across Texas (TX), New Mexico (NM), Kansas (KS), and Ohio (OH) between January and March 2024. Understanding the epidemiological and genomic underpinnings of this event may allow researchers to elucidate the etiology (origin) of the disease and prepare for future outbreaks.

Influenza A Virus (H5N1/Bird Flu) Influenza A (H5N1/bird flu) virus particles (round and rod-shaped; red and yellow). Creative composition and colorization/effects by NIAID; transmission electron micrograph imagery is courtesy CDC. Scale has been modified/not to scale. Credit: CDC and NIAID

About the study

The present study documents the January-to-March 2024 morbidity event in American cattle across TX and its neighboring states. It uses a detailed multidisciplinary approach incorporating clinical, epidemiological, and phylogenomic investigations to elucidate the pathophysiology of the virus and the genetic underpinnings of its spillover potential.

NGS for Infectious Disease Surveillance eBook Integrating genomics into the public health architecture for effective monitoring, prevention, and mitigation of infectious diseases using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology.Download the latest edition

Researchers first obtained samples for the clinic-epidemiological evaluation from nine farms across affected states – TX (5 farms), NM (2), KS (1), and OH (1). Notably, the singular farm in OH was affected following the introduction of cattle (assumed to be healthy) from the first affected TX farm.

Data collection comprised nasal swabs, milk, blood buffy coats, and serum (n = 331). These samples were subjected to real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) and viral metagenomic sequencing. Additionally, tissue from birds (great-tailed grackles, rock pigeons) and mammals (cats and raccoons) found dead at infected farms were subjected to rRT-PCR analysis.

Virus-shedding investigations were conducted to elucidate the source and duration of viral transmissions following initial infections. Excised tissues from cows, dead birds, and mammals were subjected to histological examinations. Finally, phylogenomic analyses were conducted to isolate the etiological source of the viral strain and the genetic underpinnings of its substantial spillover.

Study findings

Clinical-epidemiological investigations revealed multiple disease symptoms in cattle, notably decreased feed intake, mild respiratory distress, reduced rumination time, lethargy, dehydration, abnormal feces, and abnormal milk production (20-100% reduction in quantity, yellow color, and thick consistency). Symptoms persisted for 5-14 days. However, milk production remained reduced for up to four weeks.

All investigated rRT-PCR samples positively detected viral load, but virus shedding was the highest and most frequently detected in milk samples and mammary gland tissue. Notably, while virus shedding duration investigations detected viral loads in milk samples on days 3, 16, and 31 post-infection, infectious virus shedding was only observed on day 3.

"Histological examination of tissues from affected dairy cows revealed marked changes consisting of neutrophilic and lymphoplasmacytic mastitis with prominent effacement of tubuloacinar gland architecture which were filled with neutrophils admixed with cellular debris in multiple lobules in the mammary gland. The most pronounced histological changes in the cat tissues consisted of mild to moderate multi-focal lymphohistiocytic meningoencephalitis with multifocal areas of parenchymal and neuronal necrosis."

Phylogenomic analysis revealed that all recovered viral sequences aligned with a novel monophyletic reassorted substrain of H5N1 termed B3.13, first discovered in a Canada goose in Wyoming (25 January 2024). This lineage was most closely related to a sequence obtained from a deceased skunk in NM (23 February 2024). The similarity between viral genomes from investigated farms highlights circulation and cross-infectivity between their inhabitants, likely due to the transportation and introduction of animals between these farms.

Conclusions

The present study highlights the potential of H5N1 viral spillover and cross-infectivity in both avian and mammalian hosts across farms in the US. The mammary gland was highlighted as the region with the highest viral replication, with infected milk representing the most likely transmission route. The novel substrain (B3.13) identified herein is alarming given its spillover potential (to domestic and wild bird populations and even other mammals – cats, and raccoons).

While no human infections were reported from under-study farms, mild infections were reported during the study duration from other farms near the study area, highlighting the virus's zoonotic potential and the potential for a human pandemic.

Protective Measures

According to guidelines from the CDC, it is crucial to wear the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) when working directly or closely with sick or dead animals, such as animal feces, litter, raw milk, and other materials that might have the virus. The recommended PPE includes fluid-resistant coveralls, a waterproof apron, a NIOSH-approved respirator (e.g., N95), properly-fitted unvented or indirectly vented safety goggles or a face shield, head cover or hair cover, gloves, and boots.

Proper procedures for putting on and removing PPE, such as washing hands before and after using PPE and disinfecting reusable PPE after every use, are essential. Additionally, it is advised to shower at the end of the work shift, leave all contaminated clothing and equipment at work, and watch for symptoms of illness for ten days after working with potentially sick animals or materials.

Journal reference:

Caserta, L.C., Frye, E.A., Butt, S.L. et al. Spillover of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus to dairy cattle. Nature (2024), DOI – 10.1038/s41586-024-07849-4, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07849-4

Written by

Hugo Francisco de Souza

Hugo Francisco de Souza is a scientific writer based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. His academic passions lie in biogeography, evolutionary biology, and herpetology. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, where he studies the origins, dispersal, and speciation of wetland-associated snakes. Hugo has received, amongst others, the DST-INSPIRE fellowship for his doctoral research and the Gold Medal from Pondicherry University for academic excellence during his Masters. His research has been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, including PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases and Systematic Biology. When not working or writing, Hugo can be found consuming copious amounts of anime and manga, composing and making music with his bass guitar, shredding trails on his MTB, playing video games (he prefers the term ‘gaming’), or tinkering with all things tech.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

SPILLOVER: ANIMAL INFECTIONS AND THE NEXT HUMAN PANDEMIC

(PDF) Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human ...

https://www.researchgate.net › publication › 279755005_Spillover_Anima...

These diseases can't be well understood. until the principles of zoonotic spillover are. understood. Secondly, a large part of my book is de-. voted to these big ...

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

THE AUTHOR OF SPILLOVER IS A SCIENCE JOURNALIST
“Intrepid disease ecologists are hiking into forests, climbing through caves,… and sleuthing the mysteries of reservoir host and spillover.” David Quammen
THE ROYAL SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL
Winter 2013 -14 Zoonoses Reservoirs, reasons and the role of viruses • RSGS’s First ‘Explorer-in Residence’ • Zoonotic Geographies – A Multi-Faceted Issue • Viruses, Evolution & Spillover • Living Patterns, Vaccines & Vermin •

Book
A journey of zoonotic discovery
Many of the students I teach will no doubt enjoy David Quammen’s Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic; they are always excited about patients haemorrhaging blood everywhere, there being no cure, and the arguments about what happens next. Quammen’s fast-paced book tracks various zoonotic pathogens across the globe as he tells the contrasting stories of, among others, Hendra virus infection, the viral haemorrhagic fevers caused by Marburg or Ebola virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and HIV/AIDS. Quammen makes it clear from the outset that if we are to halt this epidemic of zoonotic cases we must stop destroying natural ecosystems at a “cataclysmic rate”. And it’s from this perspective that Quammen relates his account of these viruses, making the point that “It’s not that they target us especially. It’s just that we are so obtrusively, abundantly available.” Readers will be enthralled by his tales of tramping into caves looking for bats and pythons and even the odd cobra, or feeding gorillas in central Africa. Quammen does this well, keeping back from the action and documenting his encounters with the experts. We follow the author as he interviews scientists, survivors, and local people in horse farms, jungles, and high-biosecurity laboratories in such countries as Bangladesh, the Congo, and China. As we travel alongside him, we realise that each chapter is essentially a mixture of news and research fi ndings, with interviews and travelogue thrown in.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Disease spillover risk poorly communicated, oversimplified during COVID-19 pandemic

Peer-Reviewed Publication

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

COVID-19 has been the first pandemic that has taken place alongside the interconnectivity of the Internet. Consequently, the spread of ideas and information about the disease has been unprecedented—but not always accurate.. One of the widely circulated headlines was that of the relationship between land change and the spillover of diseases from wildlife to humans. Writing in BioScience, Andre D. Mader of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and colleagues survey primary and secondary literature, as well as webpage content on the subject of land change and zoonotic disease risk. Based on the patterns picked up from this literature and media coverage, Mader and colleagues describe what amounts to a case study in improper science communication and its possible consequences.

According to the authors, media messaging consistently described direct causality between zoonotic disease spread and land use change, despite the fact that only 53% of the surveyed peer-reviewed literature made this association. The authors delve into theoretical scenarios that would demonstrate the difficulty of tracing the real risk of zoonotic spillover, emphasizing that the “complexity of pathogen responses to land change cannot be reduced to one-size-fits-all proclamations.”

The authors found that as the literature moves from primary research to review articles and commentaries, and finally to webpages, the “overstating of the evidence” increases, with 78% of secondary papers implying the land use–zoonotic spillover association and all but one of the sampled webpages making this association. The authors also noted that secondary sources and webpages often failed to mention the uncertainty associated with their conclusions.

The potential consequences of simplistic messaging and a lack of proper communication regarding zoonotic spillover can erode credibility, neglect local community’s specific needs when it comes to policy making, and detract attention from other factors that can lead to zoonotic spillover, say Mader and colleagues. The authors recommend more accurate, nuanced, and explanatory dissemination of the studies on zoonotic spillover risk, arguing that such an approach would also benefit science more broadly. As the authors conclude, “if the goal of science communication is to improve understanding, it must strike a balance: sufficient simplicity to be grasped by as broad an audience as possible but sufficient nuance to capture the complexity of an issue and contribute meaningfully to the discussion around it, especially when it goes viral.”

JOURNAL

BioScience

DOI

10.1093/biosci/biac075

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable