The current COVID-19 pandemic has expanded lay people’s vocabulary; PCR-testing is no longer mentioned only by virologists, nor are the terms basic reproduction ratio and herd-immunity limited to epidemiologists. This expansion of vocabulary that was previously only used in specialist settings already demonstrates global, societal impact. We have learnt that it is insufficient simply to act on disease emergence and spread. More focus is needed on prevention and surveillance of the precursors of emerging infectious disease, as well as early detection. To succeed in this, it is a necessity to collaborate across sectors – academics, governments, industry and the public – in a transdisciplinary way.
Globalization has created a situation where many people move to find work or a safe place to live. Likewise, animals are transported across long distances to ensure higher economic productivity, and foods are traded internationally to keep prices low for consumers. The downside is that with movements of people and goods, hazards may also travel unnoticed, leading to unwanted events. The ongoing spread of African swine fever despite a plethora of actions taken, now from Eastern to Western Europe as well as throughout Asia, shows the challenges of risk mitigation not only in domestic animals, but also in wildlife. The culling of all mink in Denmark due to fear of spreading of COVID-19 resulted in thousands of livestock producers suddenly faced with their life’s work disappearing. In addition, the development of antimicrobial resistance and the spread of zoonotic pathogens from food systems in one part of the world to another due to movement of food, animals or people demonstrate that the challenges in veterinary public health are global. And if not mitigated, these challenges will threaten the world as we know it, as social, economic and commercial determinants of health in society are negatively impacted. To combat these threats, veterinary authorities are in constant need for allocation of resources for animal health surveillance and associated risk mitigating initiatives. If resources cannot be found, the ability to mitigate the associated risks in a timely and proportionate way may be hampered. This societal challenge is likely to continue growing.
Risk-based surveillance may be a solution to the challenges, as it will help prioritize, prevent and mitigate the risks identified. Furthermore, it will enable an understanding of why, where and which actions are needed to prevent new threats to animal and public health. Additionally, societal and economic factors play a role in how actions taken by authorities or the livestock industry are perceived by the public. Absence of involvement of the public may lead to lack of understanding and support; for example, vandalism of fences erected to stop ASF from spreading in wild boar.
The way forward is influenced by society and reflects how people are affected. Therefore, solutions are dynamic. Prioritization and feasibility are likely to differ between countries, depending on some problems being more important than others due to local conditions and whether there is an export industry to protect. Still, we require global collaboration to mitigate these global threats, and therefore, it is critical to learn from each other to achieve successful control and mitigation. Such learning will be beneficial, not just between countries but also between sectors.
The ICAHS4 conference is planned to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 2022, two years later than originally planned due to the COVID19 pandemic. The conference will provide an opportunity for meetings, learning and sharing between all stakeholders involved in surveillance and control – irrespective of whether they are affiliated with government authorities, academia or livestock industries. The outcome of such a meeting may be the development of new ways of collaboration either through Public-Private-Partnerships or use of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. Such alternative governance models may lead to cost-effective and successful collaborations. The conference will be useful not only to bring up novel collaboration models, but also to let us learn from each other how to implement them in practice.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to share the latest experiences in novel research within surveillance for animal health and food safety and security presented at the ICAHS4 conference in 2022, including:
- Surveillance for epidemics & emerging diseases
- Cross-sector and One Health surveillance
- Translating surveillance outcomes into policy, decisions and actions
- Surveillance data
- Integrating novel methods in surveillance
All speakers and poster authors of the ICAHS4 are eligible for submitting a manuscript to this Research Topic. Contributions are welcome in different formats, in particular: Original Research manuscripts (up to 12,000 words), Brief Research Reports (up to 4,000 words), and Reviews and Mini-Reviews (up to 12,000 and 3,000 words, respectively). Authors are encouraged to check the best fit for their work in the list of acceptable article types by the Frontiers in Veterinary Science journal, which also includes for instance Policy and Practice Reviews, Perspective articles and Community case studies.
Glossary and definitions:
Sector: The word is used in its widest form at ICAHS. We consider a sector a specific part of society or the economy made up of similar elements - like the health care sector or the agricultural sector. Each sector will most likely have their own policies, objectives, values, surveillance contributions, abilities, needs and interests.
Decision maker, policy, risk manager, surveillance user: These terms refer to the actors, who use surveillance outputs to make decisions about implementation of control within their unit.
Topic Editor Lis Alban works for an organization that gives advice to farmers and abattoirs. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests regarding the Research Topic subject.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has expanded lay people’s vocabulary; PCR-testing is no longer mentioned only by virologists, nor are the terms basic reproduction ratio and herd-immunity limited to epidemiologists. This expansion of vocabulary that was previously only used in specialist settings already demonstrates global, societal impact. We have learnt that it is insufficient simply to act on disease emergence and spread. More focus is needed on prevention and surveillance of the precursors of emerging infectious disease, as well as early detection. To succeed in this, it is a necessity to collaborate across sectors – academics, governments, industry and the public – in a transdisciplinary way.
Globalization has created a situation where many people move to find work or a safe place to live. Likewise, animals are transported across long distances to ensure higher economic productivity, and foods are traded internationally to keep prices low for consumers. The downside is that with movements of people and goods, hazards may also travel unnoticed, leading to unwanted events. The ongoing spread of African swine fever despite a plethora of actions taken, now from Eastern to Western Europe as well as throughout Asia, shows the challenges of risk mitigation not only in domestic animals, but also in wildlife. The culling of all mink in Denmark due to fear of spreading of COVID-19 resulted in thousands of livestock producers suddenly faced with their life’s work disappearing. In addition, the development of antimicrobial resistance and the spread of zoonotic pathogens from food systems in one part of the world to another due to movement of food, animals or people demonstrate that the challenges in veterinary public health are global. And if not mitigated, these challenges will threaten the world as we know it, as social, economic and commercial determinants of health in society are negatively impacted. To combat these threats, veterinary authorities are in constant need for allocation of resources for animal health surveillance and associated risk mitigating initiatives. If resources cannot be found, the ability to mitigate the associated risks in a timely and proportionate way may be hampered. This societal challenge is likely to continue growing.
Risk-based surveillance may be a solution to the challenges, as it will help prioritize, prevent and mitigate the risks identified. Furthermore, it will enable an understanding of why, where and which actions are needed to prevent new threats to animal and public health. Additionally, societal and economic factors play a role in how actions taken by authorities or the livestock industry are perceived by the public. Absence of involvement of the public may lead to lack of understanding and support; for example, vandalism of fences erected to stop ASF from spreading in wild boar.
The way forward is influenced by society and reflects how people are affected. Therefore, solutions are dynamic. Prioritization and feasibility are likely to differ between countries, depending on some problems being more important than others due to local conditions and whether there is an export industry to protect. Still, we require global collaboration to mitigate these global threats, and therefore, it is critical to learn from each other to achieve successful control and mitigation. Such learning will be beneficial, not just between countries but also between sectors.
The ICAHS4 conference is planned to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 2022, two years later than originally planned due to the COVID19 pandemic. The conference will provide an opportunity for meetings, learning and sharing between all stakeholders involved in surveillance and control – irrespective of whether they are affiliated with government authorities, academia or livestock industries. The outcome of such a meeting may be the development of new ways of collaboration either through Public-Private-Partnerships or use of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. Such alternative governance models may lead to cost-effective and successful collaborations. The conference will be useful not only to bring up novel collaboration models, but also to let us learn from each other how to implement them in practice.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to share the latest experiences in novel research within surveillance for animal health and food safety and security presented at the ICAHS4 conference in 2022, including:
- Surveillance for epidemics & emerging diseases
- Cross-sector and One Health surveillance
- Translating surveillance outcomes into policy, decisions and actions
- Surveillance data
- Integrating novel methods in surveillance
All speakers and poster authors of the ICAHS4 are eligible for submitting a manuscript to this Research Topic. Contributions are welcome in different formats, in particular: Original Research manuscripts (up to 12,000 words), Brief Research Reports (up to 4,000 words), and Reviews and Mini-Reviews (up to 12,000 and 3,000 words, respectively). Authors are encouraged to check the best fit for their work in the list of acceptable article types by the Frontiers in Veterinary Science journal, which also includes for instance Policy and Practice Reviews, Perspective articles and Community case studies.
Glossary and definitions:
Sector: The word is used in its widest form at ICAHS. We consider a sector a specific part of society or the economy made up of similar elements - like the health care sector or the agricultural sector. Each sector will most likely have their own policies, objectives, values, surveillance contributions, abilities, needs and interests.
Decision maker, policy, risk manager, surveillance user: These terms refer to the actors, who use surveillance outputs to make decisions about implementation of control within their unit.
Topic Editor Lis Alban works for an organization that gives advice to farmers and abattoirs. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests regarding the Research Topic subject.