Bridging the research gap between China and the EU The research community has an important role to play in controlling animal diseases like avian influenza and classical swine fever. Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo tells us about the LinkTADs project’s work in coordinating research between the EU and China, work which will help lay the foundations for continued investigation into animal diseases across regions The nature of
modern farming and international trade heightens the risk of animal diseases spreading rapidly, sometimes jumping thousands of kilometres at once as illustrated by the rapid expansion of avian influenza. The European Union and China both hold deep scientific expertise on transboundary animal diseases (TADs) and zoonoses (those which can be transmitted to humans); now the LinkTADs project aims to strengthen research links, bringing together partners in the EU and China. “The idea behind LinkTADs is to get research groups in both regions working together on common animal health projects,” says Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo, the project’s Coordinator. The scope of the project was very broad, determined to a large degree by the interests of the partners. “The partners defined the topics - e.g. diseases of interest - and then workshops, exchanges and meetings were organised based on those interests,” explains Beltran-Alcrudo. “A wide range of topics were discussed at those workshops and meetings, and the projects that have come out of it are also very diverse, but always within the wider area of animal health.” A number of major research priorities have been identified, one of which is in epidemiology, the study of the patterns of disease transmission. While China is very advanced in areas like diagnostics and vaccine development, the one area in which there is a relative skills gap is in epidemiology. “We don’t always know
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how a disease spreads, how it behaves. That means asking questions like what percentage of animals are affected? What are the market chains, are animals moving between places? In what places do animals congregate, and where do you need to test them?” explains BeltranAlcrudo. A second key priority was to coordinate the work that is being done on developing diagnostics and vaccines with the work of epidemiologists, so that diagnostics and vaccines can be applied more effectively. “We aimed to get these two groups working together, which previously hasn’t always been the case. That was another big focus of the project,” outlines Beltran-Alcrudo.
Many different projects have been established to investigate issues around animal diseases, in terms of improving surveillance, prevention and control. However, with this high volume of research, it becomes increasingly difficult for scientists to keep track of existing knowledge and identify potential collaborators for new studies. “It would be difficult for a researcher in Sweden to know who in China is working on a specific topic for example. LinkTADs bridges that gap,” says Beltran-Alcrudo. The project enables scientists to come together and discuss topics of interest, identify technological gaps and potentially establish new collaborations to address important questions in research. “There are eleven
Relationship network within LinkTADs and with external partners.
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