ISLAMABAD, (MILLAT ONLINE/APP): Minister of State for Federal
Education and Professional Training, Engr Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman
on Thursday said that efforts were needed to contain infectious
diseases through prevention.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of international
workshop on “One health Fellowship Programme” organized by Pakistan
Academy of Sciences in collaboration with National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) USA.
The minister while promised all out support of government of
Pakistan to join hand with international partners to contain
infectious diseases.
Participants included, head of organizations, researchers,
policy makers beside experts from USA, UK, New Zealand, Thailand,
Singapore and France were attended the workshop.
The experts were of the opinion that the world today was a
highly interconnected place in which people, animals and vectors as
well as the pathogens they carry or transmit were only an airplane
flight away from any point on the globe.
In addition, the interface between humans and animals was ever
increasing, whether due to crowding and commerce, or due to human
colonization of previously uninhabited or sparsely populated
settings.
These factors create a perfect environment for rapid spread of
zoonotic diseases. Recent outbreaks of diseases of zoonotic origin,
such as SARS, MERS, Foot and Mouth disease, BSE, avian influenza,
BSE, and Nipah virus had caused not only major human suffering but
also enormous economic cost.
As an example, SARS is estimated to have cost 30-50 billion
dollars in economic loss.
The speakers stressed joint efforts to save humanity from any
crises in current scenario of climate change and antibiotic
resistance.
Notable speakers were Prof. Zabta Shinwari from Pakistan
Academy of Sciences, Dr. Lida Anestidou from USA, Prof. David Hayman
from New Zealand, and Linfa Wang from Singapore.
The scientists opined that the same interconnectedness that
has made the world vulnerable to large-scale zoonotic outbreaks also
presents an opportunity to function as a global public health
community in building capacity to respond to zoonotic diseases of
epidemic pandemic potential.
A country in which human and animal scientists, health care
workers, epidemiologists and laboratorians, know how to work
together in advance of a public health threat was one that will
likely be resilient in the face of an actual outbreak.
A world in which scientists from different countries know each
other, and have formed professional relationships and networks, was
one that will know how to collaborate in a time of crisis.
Nurturing these sorts of connections among countries, and
building up inter-disciplinary cadres of skilled and trained
individuals at country level takes time and resources.
In this spirit, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) USA and
PAS, undertook a pilot fellowship programme to build capacity of early
to mid-careers scientists from Pakistan in one-health, and to foster
collaboration and cooperation among countries in preparedness and
response to zoonotic diseases.