Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant warned that 75 per cent of newly emerging infectious diseases that have affected people over last three decades are zoonotic, which so far were prevalent in animals only.
Zoonotic disease (which is transmitted from animals to humans, or vice versa) is one of the areas of concern which is affecting the humans as well as the animal health, Pant said.
The limited knowledge and skill to identify zoonotic diseases, coupled with limited diagnostic facilities at all levels has resulted in neglect of the infectious diseases due to zoonotic pathogens.
Health Secretary said this while delivering the keynote address at the National Conclave on “Augmented Zoonotic Diseases Surveillance at Human – Wildlife Interface” and National Conclave for Endorsement of “National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming” to Stakeholders, organized by Centre for One Health, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), here today on 17 October 2023.
“It is important to address diseases from both human and animal perspective as most emerging infectious diseases are a result of changing human-animal interface and their shared environment. This interconnectedness highlighted the need for a One Health approach,” Pant said.
The Health Secretary noted that besides the emergence of zoonotic diseases, Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) has also emerged as a significant threat globally.
