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Scares from H5N1 flu outbreaks in the early 2000's led to the One Health Initiative Task force being set up in 2006 to try and prevent large ...

 Human societies transform the natural environment around them. If this impact is negative, it can increase infectious disease risk. Epidemiologist Joacim Rocklöv believes changing human behavior is critical to preventing pandemics from happening in the future. 

“... An early adopter

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the subsequent global Covid-19 pandemic between the end of 2019 and spring 2023 took most of us by surprise. Since it began, pandemic preparedness and prevention of disease transmission from animals to humans has been on the minds of many.

However, experts in the field, including Rocklöv, suspected a pandemic may be on the horizon. Scares from H5N1 flu outbreaks in the early 2000’s led to the One Health Initiative Task force being set up in 2006 to try and prevent large epidemics by observing and changing links between humans, animals and the environment. ...”

“... Pandemic silver lining

During the pandemic, Rocklöv tried to use his knowledge of infectious diseases and epidemiology to help local authorities along with other experts. He did some risk assessment modelling and helped predict infection fatality rates with colleagues working in the area, but says he was disappointed by how slow the Swedish authorities were at responding to signs the pandemic was spreading. "I was convinced the signs from China had to be taken more seriously," he says, "but it was not easy because those situations became so political and polarized."

On the positive side, Rocklöv says the silver lining is that there has been increased interest in his work since the onset of the pandemic. "I think the One Health area is going through a revolution in how it's considered and taken up. Different research communities are starting to talk to one another and come together, which is nice to see," he says. "I think it's really important to break silos. I'm very interdisciplinary in my research, so for me it's not very important what you call an area, but more how it contributes to tackling these problems and issues." ...”

SEE: Preventing Future Pandemics Through Community Empowerment | VolkswagenStiftung

https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/en/news/story/preventing-future-pandemics-through-community-empowerment