In order to prevent transmission, control, and eventually eliminate (re)emerging zoonotic diseases, it is imperative that experts of animal, human, and environmental sectors collaborate with a common goal. With a changing environment and ever closer interactions between humans and animals, zoonotic outbreaks will occur, and have potentially increased pandemic potential.

 

Wim van der Poel is professor at Wageningen University & Research. His current research interests include: Emerging Veterinary Viruses, Zoonotic Viruses and One Health. In these areas our research has primarily been focussing on the detection and characterization of viruses in different animal species and sources including food and environmental matrices.

 

His work has focussed on the development of new tools, methods and procedures to study infection dynamics in susceptible hosts and host populations including reservoirs. Through this type of research infection and transmission levels can be elucidated and it also enables studies of virus epidemiology in the broader ecosystems. Research in the field of One Health was based on collaboration between human and veterinary medicine but has been extended to multidisciplinary approaches including much more health related research disciplines.

 

With an increased pandemic potential is crucial to develop and test, and subsequently be able to select the most suitable and effective mitigating measures and control strategies for different situations. Such measures include several approaches, including vaccination strategies, hygiene or biosecurity measures, travel or transport bans, and even culling of (potentially) affected animals. In view of the limited financial and human resources, it is essential to develop effective and efficient interventions with direct impact on restraining further disease transmission. Geospatial or statistical/mathematical risk mapping or forecasting models could provide some insight for the decision-making of policy-makers, as well as innovative epidemiological tools for improved control interventions, including for the hard-to-reach populations.   

 

In this session we welcome abstracts that address the current state of the art in the field of control measures of infectious disease, including disease modeling, effective and innovative control interventions, and other public health, animal health, and/or environmental health factors that may assist in controlling and eliminating zoonotic diseases.  

 

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