Giuseppe
Emeritus
[Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, full text: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
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Zoonosis emergence linked to agricultural intensification and environmental change
Bryony A. Jones<SUP>a</SUP>,<SUP>b</SUP>,<SUP>1</SUP>, Delia Grace<SUP>b</SUP>, Richard Kock<SUP>c</SUP>, Silvia Alonso<SUP>a</SUP>, Jonathan Rushton<SUP>a</SUP>, Mohammed Y. Said<SUP>b</SUP>, Declan McKeever<SUP>c</SUP>, Florence Mutua<SUP>b</SUP>, Jarrah Young<SUP>b</SUP>, John McDermott<SUP>b</SUP>, and Dirk Udo Pfeiffer<SUP>a</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
Author Affiliations: <SUP>a</SUP>Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group and <SUP>c</SUP>Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, United Kingdom; and <SUP>b</SUP>International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Edited by Jeffrey Sayer, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, and accepted by the Editorial Board December 21, 2012 (received for review June 14, 2012)
Abstract
A systematic review was conducted by a multidisciplinary team to analyze qualitatively best available scientific evidence on the effect of agricultural intensification and environmental changes on the risk of zoonoses for which there are epidemiological interactions between wildlife and livestock. The study found several examples in which agricultural intensification and/or environmental change were associated with an increased risk of zoonotic disease emergence, driven by the impact of an expanding human population and changing human behavior on the environment. We conclude that the rate of future zoonotic disease emergence or reemergence will be closely linked to the evolution of the agriculture?environment nexus. However, available research inadequately addresses the complexity and interrelatedness of environmental, biological, economic, and social dimensions of zoonotic pathogen emergence, which significantly limits our ability to predict, prevent, and respond to zoonotic disease emergence.
health ? epidemiology ? ecosystem ? ecology
Footnotes
<SUP>1</SUP>To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bajones@rvc.ac.uk.
Author contributions: D.G., R.K., S.A., J.R., M.Y.S., D.M., J.M., and D.U.P. designed research; B.A.J., D.G., R.K., S.A., J.R., M.Y.S., D.M., F.M., J.Y., and D.U.P. performed research; B.A.J., D.G., R.K., S.A., J.R., M.Y.S., and D.U.P. analyzed data; and B.A.J., D.G., R.K., S.A., J.R., D.M., and D.U.P. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. J.S. is a guest editor invited by the Editorial Board.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1208059110/-/DCSupplemental.
-Bryony A. Jones<SUP>a</SUP>,<SUP>b</SUP>,<SUP>1</SUP>, Delia Grace<SUP>b</SUP>, Richard Kock<SUP>c</SUP>, Silvia Alonso<SUP>a</SUP>, Jonathan Rushton<SUP>a</SUP>, Mohammed Y. Said<SUP>b</SUP>, Declan McKeever<SUP>c</SUP>, Florence Mutua<SUP>b</SUP>, Jarrah Young<SUP>b</SUP>, John McDermott<SUP>b</SUP>, and Dirk Udo Pfeiffer<SUP>a</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
Author Affiliations: <SUP>a</SUP>Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group and <SUP>c</SUP>Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, United Kingdom; and <SUP>b</SUP>International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Edited by Jeffrey Sayer, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, and accepted by the Editorial Board December 21, 2012 (received for review June 14, 2012)
Abstract
A systematic review was conducted by a multidisciplinary team to analyze qualitatively best available scientific evidence on the effect of agricultural intensification and environmental changes on the risk of zoonoses for which there are epidemiological interactions between wildlife and livestock. The study found several examples in which agricultural intensification and/or environmental change were associated with an increased risk of zoonotic disease emergence, driven by the impact of an expanding human population and changing human behavior on the environment. We conclude that the rate of future zoonotic disease emergence or reemergence will be closely linked to the evolution of the agriculture?environment nexus. However, available research inadequately addresses the complexity and interrelatedness of environmental, biological, economic, and social dimensions of zoonotic pathogen emergence, which significantly limits our ability to predict, prevent, and respond to zoonotic disease emergence.
health ? epidemiology ? ecosystem ? ecology
Footnotes
<SUP>1</SUP>To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bajones@rvc.ac.uk.
Author contributions: D.G., R.K., S.A., J.R., M.Y.S., D.M., J.M., and D.U.P. designed research; B.A.J., D.G., R.K., S.A., J.R., M.Y.S., D.M., F.M., J.Y., and D.U.P. performed research; B.A.J., D.G., R.K., S.A., J.R., M.Y.S., and D.U.P. analyzed data; and B.A.J., D.G., R.K., S.A., J.R., D.M., and D.U.P. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. J.S. is a guest editor invited by the Editorial Board.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1208059110/-/DCSupplemental.
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