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Share FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wildlife Trust Launches One Health Alliance of South Asia (OHASA) |
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Global Conservation Health Initiative Concentrates on Emerging Disease Hotspot Region 
NEW YORK, NY, March 18, 2010, --/WORLD-WIRE/-- Wildlife Trust, the global conservation health organization, announced the formation of the One Health Alliance of South Asia (OHASA) – a collaborative group of scientists and government agencies focused on the spread of emerging diseases among wildlife and human populations. The newly formed group will hone in on an area encompassing the West Bengal region of India and its neighboring country, Bangladesh. In 2008, the Rockefeller Foundation funded a one-year program with a directive for Wildlife Trust to develop a health network linking these countries with a long-term goal of creating a formal alliance. The One Health Alliance of South Asia is a direct result of that program. “After many months of planning the participating members drafted the “Bengal Declaration” as a formalized initiative calling upon governing agencies to lend support, resources and personnel,” said president of Wildlife Trust, Dr. Peter Daszak. “We are working to implement trans-boundary measures to monitor wildlife and human populations for zoonotic disease outbreaks.” The One Health Alliance of South Asia has outlined its mission within this border region of India and Bangladesh and aspires to expand this charter to other countries in South Asia. OHASA’s mission includes:
Wildlife Trust and its independent partners will foster the growth of a synergistic initiative across Bangladesh and India among both ministry officials and scientists. A “Smart Surveillance” Approach Wildlife Trust and its independent partners will target disease surveillance in the regions where zoonotic agents are most likely to emerge. Researchers will sample animal populations most likely to carry disease and will examine the activities that are most likely to cause these disease agents to spillover into people. OHASA believes this preventative and predictive methodology can stop the next devastating pandemic in its tracks. The number of emerging diseases among wildlife and human populations has increased exponentially in this part of the world and scientists believe the frequency of disease outbreaks requires mandated surveillance methods. Wildlife Trust’s research on global disease hotspots identified subtropical regions as a viral hotbed for disease outbreaks. Dr. Mushtaque Chowdhury of the Rockefeller Foundation, commented, “such collaborations will build stronger wildlife surveillance protocols and testing guidelines and will reinforce our data sets and improve lines of communication between countries and between ministries and the human, domestic animal and wildlife sectors thus truly achieving a One Health approach.” The underlying causes of many diseases can be directly linked to environmental changes in population, deforestation and fragmentation, global warming, and failing ecosystems. Other factors include global wildlife trade, shrinking natural habitats, invasive species, and socio-economic changes. "The only way to deal with these complex issues is to bring our views of human, wildlife and livestock health together - a true 'One Health' approach,” states Professor Nitish Debnath, Vice Chancellor of Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Science University, Bangladesh. Wildlife Trust scientists have identified the Indian subcontinent as one of the top regions where the next pandemic disease could arise. OHASA delegates will work with local authorities from many disciplines and institutions in India and Bangladesh and ultimately other South Asian countries to identify zoonotic diseases and work to predict and prevent outbreaks. “Shrinking habitats and human-induced changes to the environment are forcing wildlife and people into smaller areas causing a rise in zoonotic diseases that is unprecedented,” said Dr. Raman Sukumar, world-renowned Asian elephant expert and Wildlife Trust Alliance member. “OHASA will focus on a targeted regional effort to safeguard human, wildlife and ecosystem health.” Contact: Anthony M. Ramos Wildlife Trust Tel: 212.380.4469 or 914.787.9631 ramos@wildlifetrust.org |
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