This is a follow-up of my column last week on the ecology of disease.
The One Health Initiative is “a worldwide program, involving 600 scientists and other professionals, that advances the idea that human, animal and ecological health are inextricably linked and need to be studied and managed holistically.”
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that have excellent research facilities in the natural and ecological sciences and the social sciences, including virus and microbiological laboratories, are in a position to conduct research programs in the area of One Health Initiative. This is because in recent decades many new diseases caused by viruses have sprung up from wildlife and domestic animals, with clear connections to the despoliation and degradation of nature, primarily our forest ecosystems.
Whereas wildlife used to be confined to forest areas before, in the early decades of the 20th century, they are now widespread in human communities because of the contraction of their natural habitats, ironically as the result of human activities. This clearly shows the folly of destroying the natural environment.
The four groups of wild animals implicated as reservoirs of the little known viruses causing diseases of epidemic proportions are rats, bats and primates (e.g. monkeys), and birds (e.g. robins). The rabies virus and the influenza virus have been known to cause diseases for a long time but have remained as infectious as before.
The Philippines has a high biodiversity and some species are potential carriers of viruses and bacteria, the virulence of which is magnified when transmitted from their hosts to wildlife and domestic species and then to humans. One species of fruit bats in Asia has been shown to be one of these species. And there are many species of fruit bats and insectivorous bats in the country. These species should be studied for their potential role as transmitters of emergent diseases. But HEIs also have to move to a higher level in their research capability when dealing with these diseases, both in terms of research expertise of the faculty and in the matter of providing research laboratory facilities.
One of the major objectives of the One Health Initiative is to develop early warning systems to avoid the occurrence of epidemics. Research is essential in providing the information to achieve this goal.
Philippine higher education institutions can contribute to a better quality of human life by engaging in EcoHealth research projects. They can also increase the public understanding of the ecology of disease through explanations of the concept of co-evolution of animal hosts and microorganisms (viruses and bacteria) in the course of evolutionary time.
