Emerging Infectious Diseases in Animals: Asia's Preparedness and Response

Asian cuisine is a diverse cuisine which incorporates various ingredients into their daily diet. Meat is a prominent part of their culinary culture. The regions in South East Asia's coastline and the Pacific islands require fish and other forms of meat to sustain their food economy. The health of the meat sources is of paramount importance. Emerging animal illnesses have the power to disrupt animal health, which directly impacts human health and trade. Asia has been the hotbed for various diseases in the past. Livestock rearing in poor, unsanitary conditions in South East Asia has been responsible for diseases in animals.

The pandemic has shown the various weak areas in our systems. It was a wake-up call for us to learn about the ramification of animal diseases on the human body. So now we have adopted various measures to tackle illnesses among animals and make sure they stay healthy. The ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) has taken active measures to counter this phenomenon.

Early Warning System

Before any actions can be taken, identification is important. Early warning is what allows detection and the next course of action to be taken. It allows you to analyze the gravity of the situation. Any dangerous contagious disease has the potential to evolve into an epidemic if left unchecked for a long time. Epidemics have a history of immense damage to human lives and livestock, it is tantamount to have awareness protocols in place which will help in mitigating the risk.

A few measures which were outlined by the ASEAN Strategy for Exotic, Emerging, Re-emerging Diseases and Animal Health Emergencies report were

• Farmer and public awareness programs
• Training Field Officers and auxiliary staff in pathological reductions
• Close coordination between field and laboratory services
• Emergency reporting services available on all chains of command
• Contingency plans on all levels

Early Response Execution

Upon identification of a potential outbreak, identification alone will not help in averting the crisis. Immediate response protocols and measures must be ready to curb the growing illnesses, contagious or not, it has the possibility to impact the local livestock ecosystem. This must be carried out in the shortest time in the most cost-effective way possible.

A few measures outlined are

• Establishment of a national animal disease planning committee and a dedicated task force
• Installation of diagnostics for all possible high-risk diseases
• The intervention of the private sector to work smoothly with authorities
• Arrangements for funding for disease control campaigns
• Permits to be easily issuable to frontline committees
• Compensation measures to be in place of casualties for affected livestock and farmers

Surveillance

In case of an ongoing outbreak, it is of paramount importance to assess the situation so suitable plans can be made and carried out. Surveillance is the key to control and freedom from disease. Giving public assurance is just as important. Data collection and analysis is the primary measure, only after all these are the actions carried out. Risk assessment should also be carried out in parallel and simultaneously flexibility should be there with varying threat levels.

Historically, the Nipah virus, avian influenza, H1N1 virus, Swine fever and many more have impacted Asian animal life in a devastating manner. A lot of livestock has been annihilated on a large scale in the countryside regions, even though humans may not be affected directly by those diseases, their livelihoods were sure to take a hit. It is vital to acknowledge animal diseases as a threat to the economic well-being of a state. Laboratories must be equipped with the state of the art technology and the Internet must be leveraged to its full potential. The covid pandemic had bought the world to its knees, it is of the utmost priority that no incident like that happens again.