Zoonotic Diseases
Always on alert The IAEA’s record in tackling zoonoses globally By Michael Amdi Madsen
In a course offered by the FAO and the IAEA, veterinary scientists in Sierra Leone are learning how to catch, sample and diagnose potentially virus-transmitting bats, using nuclear-derived techniques. (Photo: Laura Gil /IAEA)
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n 2005, following a spate of African swine fever outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gerrit Viljoen, working for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the IAEA, visited a piggery outside Kinshasa. Viljoen was there to train local scientists in disease sampling techniques and prepare them for potential outbreaks. What he witnessed still preys on his mind. Over a dramatic three days, the highly contagious swine pathogen causing the disease swept through the farm, killing all of its 5000 pigs. As tragic as that outbreak and the devastation it wrought on livelihoods were, African swine fever fortunately stops at pigs and does not infect people. But that’s not true for all animal diseases. Many of today’s most contagious and deadly infectious diseases — seven out of every ten — originate from animals. We call them zoonotic diseases or zoonoses. By providing training, equipment, chemical reagents and technical expertise, the IAEA, in partnership with the FAO, has contributed to bringing some of the world’s most dangerous and damaging diseases, including COVID19, under control. The IAEA’s response to the ongoing pandemic is the latest in a string of
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efforts to combat zoonoses, including Zika, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Rift Valley fever, avian influenza, brucellosis and Ebola.
Nuclear science saving lives In late 2013, one of the worst and most widespread outbreaks of Ebola ever experienced began. Spread through contact with the blood or bodily fluids of those infected with the disease, Ebola cases rapidly proliferated in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In August 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the region’s Ebola epidemic an international public health emergency. Over two and a half years, the virus killed more than 11 000 people — 40 per cent of those infected. Authorities managed to control the outbreak, saving tens of thousands of lives. Always on alert for potential outbreaks, already in 2012, the IAEA was informed of Ebola incidents in Central and Eastern Africa and began providing support. By the time of the large outbreaks in West Africa, the IAEA had in place primers and protocols to help identify strains of Ebola — the first step towards controlling the disease. Along with
