Initiative to monitor zoonotic diseases among frontline forest staff

Maharashtra forest department has launched an initiative to build a real-time surveillance model for detecting zoonotic diseases among bird sanctuary workers and residents in the vicinity of wetlands

PUNE The Maharashtra forest department has launched an initiative to build a real-time surveillance model for detecting zoonotic diseases among bird sanctuary workers and residents in the vicinity of the wetlands.

Maharashtra forest department has launched an initiative to build a real-time surveillance model for detecting zoonotic diseases among bird sanctuary workers and residents in the vicinity of wetlands. (HT)

The initiative ‘Building a surveillance model for detecting zoonotic spillover in increased bird-human interaction settings’, which commenced in January this year, will be held along with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Virology, Pune (NIV), and Symbiosis International University.

As part of the initiative, a sensitisation program was organised at Vanbhavan on January 22.

NR Praveen, chief conservator of forests, Pune circle, said, “The sensitisation programme helps in creating awareness among the frontline forest staff, who are highly prone to such infection and tend to ignore the symptoms due to their lack of seriousness about the disease. The initiative will soon be extended to other parts of the state in a phased manner.”

As a part of the initiative, a screening program has been launched by ICMR, NIV and Ela Foundation in which frontline forest staff managing sanctuaries and the people living in the close vicinity of major wetlands in Maharashtra will be tested for the zoonatic infection. The individuals will be approached for written informed consent. The consented individual will participate in the seroprevalence study for three years.

Satish Pande, founder, Ela Foundation, who has an active role in this initiative said, “The study will not only help the frontline forest staffer but also the society at large which is prone to such zoonotic infection. The study will help fill up the data gap and help in developing the detection models with regards to zoonotic infections.”

Zoonoses, diseases transmitted from animals to humans, are fast becoming an increasing cause of public health concern worldwide. Nipah virus, Ebola haemorrhagic fever virus, Zika virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2), Avian influenza virus (AIV) and Monkeypox virus are notable examples of emerging zoonotic pathogens. Among zoonotic diseases associated with birds, avian influenza is the most important zoonotic infection. Wild birds have been described as sentinels, reservoirs, and potential spreaders of antibiotic resistance.