Zoonotic diseases in the Mediterranean region: a brief introduction

(1)

Veterinaria

Italiana

, 44

(4), 573‐576

573

Zoonotic

diseases

in

the

Mediterranean

region:

a

brief

introduction

Aristarhos

M. Seimenis

Summary

Great

concern

is

being

expressed

at

the

international

level

on

the

emergence

and

re

‐

emergence

of

certain

infectious

diseases,

many

of

which

are

zoonoses,

e.g.

Rift

Valley

fever,

highly

pathogenic

avian

influenza,

etc.

Many

aspects

of

globalisation,

i.e.

the

move

‐

ments

of

populations,

increased

urbanisation,

greater

production

and

trade

in

animals

and

animal

products,

close

interaction

between

humans

and

animals,

environmental

degradation,

inappropriate

waste

disposal,

etc.,

are

all

determining

factors

in

the

prevalence

of

zoonoses.

The

Mediterranean

and

Middle

East

share

similar

ecological

and

epidemiological

conditions

and

are

affected

by

almost

the

same

zoonoses

(brucellosis,

rabies,

echinococcosis,

leishmaniosis,

salmonellosis,

etc.).

National

control

programmes

have

given

partial

results

or

have

failed

due

to

weak

infrastructures,

insufficient

financial

resources,

inadequate

intersectoral

collaboration

and

coordination,

a

lack

of

public

health

education,

etc.

There

is

an

urgent

need

for

the

firm

commitment

of

all

parties

involved

on

regional,

national

and

international

levels

to

ensure

the

success

of

zoonoses

prevention

and

control

programmes.

Keywords

Control,

Disease,

Emerging

zoonoses,

Epidemiology,

Intersectoral

collaboration,

Public

health,

Zoonosis.

Zoonosi

nell’area

mediterranea:

una

breve

introduzione

Riassunto

A

livello

internazionale

l’emergere

e

il

riemergere

di

alcune

malattie

infettive,

molte

delle

quali

zoonosi,

come

ad

esempio

la

febbre

della

Valle

del

Rift,

l’influenza

aviaria

da

ceppi

altamente

patogeni,

ecc.

ha

suscitato

grande

preoccupazione.

Diversi

aspetti

della

globalizzazione,

quali

l’aumento

e

la

rapidità

degli

spostamenti

di

persone,

animali

e

merci,

l’urbanizzazione,

il

degrado

dell’ambiente,

la

contaminazione

degli

alimenti

causata

da

agenti

patogeni,

ecc.,

sono

tutti

fattori

determinanti

nella

prevalenza

delle

zoonosi.

Nel

Mediterraneo

e

nel

Medio

Oriente

esistono

condizioni

epidemiologiche

ed

ecologiche

simili,

con

una

prevalenza

del

tutto

analoga

di

importanti

zoonosi,

quali

brucellosi,

rabbia,

echinococcosi,

leishmaniosi,

salmonellosi,

ecc.

I

programmi

nazionali

di

controllo

delle

zoonosi

messi

in

atto

hanno

dato

risultati

parziali

o

sono

falliti

per

carenza

di

strutture,

insufficienza

di

finanziamenti,

assenza

di

collaborazione

inter

‐

settoriale

e

mancanza

di

educazione

sanitaria.

Nelle

attività

di

prevenzione

e

controllo

delle

zoonosi

risulta

importante

il

costante

impegno

di

tutti

coloro

che,

a

livello

internazionale,

nazionale

e

regionale

devono

contribuire

alla

realizzazione

dell’obiettivo.

Parole

chiave

Collaborazione

intersettoriale,

Controllo,

Epidemiologia,

Malattia,

Sanità

pubblica,

Zoonosi,

Zoonosi

emergenti.

Dire c to r, Me d ite rra ne a n Zo o no se s C o ntro l C e ntre o f the Wo rld He a lth O rg a niza tio n, 24 Sto urna ri Stre e t, 10682 Athe ns, G re e c e

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Zoonotic diseases in the Mediterranean: a brief introduction Aristarhos M. Seimenis

574

Vol. 44 (4), Vet Ital www.izs.it/vet_italiana © IZS A&M 2008

Background

During the last two decades, great concern has

been

expressed

on

the

emergence

and

re‐emergence

of

certain

infectious

diseases,

among which zoonoses play an important part.

Example

of

such

events

include

the

plague

epidemic

in

India,

the

reappearance

and

extensive

spread

of

cholera

in

South

America

after

several

decades

of

freedom,

Ebola

haemorrhagic

fever

in

the

Democratic

Republic

of

the

Congo,

Gabon

and

Uganda.

Similarly,

there

is

much

concern

about

transmission

of

‘mad

cow

disease’

(bovine

spongiform encephalopathy) and the spread of

Rift Valley

fever for the

first time

outside

the

African continent, namely in Yemen and Saudi

Arabia.

The same should also be said

of West

Nile

fever,

for

the

severe

acute

respiratory

syndrome

and

highly

pathogenic

avian

influenza.

For

many

years

and

in

many

countries,

these

diseases

that

have

their

reservoirs in domestic and

wild animals, have

imposed

and

are

still

imposing

a

very

heavy

burden on people living and working in rural

areas,

as

well

as,

in

the

crowded

and

unhygienic environments of most cities (2, 7, 8,

10, 11).

Current

situation

The

significance

of

zoonotic

and

foodborne

diseases

continues

to

grow

and

their

health

and

socioeconomic

impacts

are

increasingly being felt by many countries and,

most particularly, although not exclusively, by

developing

countries.

Apart

from

causing

human

suffering,

morbidity

and

mortality,

they hamper agricultural production, decrease

the

availability

of

food

and

create

barriers

to

international trade (5, 9, 14).

The

massive

changes

of

the

last

decades,

especially

increased

urbanisation,

most

of

which

is

inadequately

planned,

have

led

to

large

movements

of

populations,

the

opening

up

of

much

needed

new

areas

for

food

production,

increased trade in

meat,

milk

and

other

products

of

animal

origin,

the

vastly

increasing numbers and speed of vehicles and

even tourism, all of which have contributed to

making the problem of zoonoses not only rural

and characteristic of defined areas but regional

and, in some cases, worldwide (3, 10, 14).

Close interaction between

human

populations

and

animals,

the

consumption

of

unpasteurised

milk

and

dairy

products,

the

intensification

of animal production and trade

of

animals

and

animal

products,

increased

stray

dogs

in

urban

areas,

illegal

slaughter

practices

and

environmental

degradation

through

human

interventions,

together

with

the sometimes inappropriate disposal of waste,

are

some

of

the

factors

that

are

perpetuating

infection among humans (1, 9, 11, 13).

The

conditions

that

prevail

in

the

Mediterranean

and

Middle

East

are

very

similar

and

are affected

by

many

of

the same

zoonotic

diseases,

i.e. brucellosis,

rabies,

echinococcosis,

leishmaniosis,

salmonellosis,

etc. (3, 4, 8, 10, 14).

Environmental

factors

have

played

an

important

role

in

the

spread

of

zoonoses

and

the environment itself has suffered through the

alteration

of

ecological

conditions.

This

contributes

to

the

pollution

of

the

environment,

not

only

through

biological

contamination

caused

by

pathogens

and

vectors, but also by the many control measures

applied,

such

as

the

widespread

use

of

pesticides

which

have

far‐reaching

consequences in so many biological cycles and

which

have

negatively

affected

human

health

and well‐being (3, 10, 14).

Control

programmes

implemented

in

individual

countries

have

had

only

partial

success or have failed. This is because, besides

requiring

an

adequate

national

organisation

and the

availability

of

resources,

effectiveness

requires

strong

international

cooperation,

especially between neighbouring countries.

What

should

be

done?

(3)

Aristarhos M. Seimenis Zoonotic diseases in the Mediterranean: a brief introduction

575 The

effective

prevention

and

control

of

major

zoonoses

depend

on

the

firm

decision

of

national

authorities

to

confront

these diseases

and on their capacity

to allocate

the

necessary

human and financial resources to the sectors in

need,

to

establish

the

essential

intersectoral

collaboration

and

coordination,

especially

between

national veterinary and

public

health

services

in

association

with

public

health

education

campaigns

and

community

awareness

and

participation.

Such

comprehensive

national

approaches

which,

supported

by

international

technical

collaboration, are only able to contribute to the

alleviation

of

human

suffering

and

to

the

reduction

of

the

public

health

and

economic

impact

that

these

groups

of

diseases

are

creating (6, 12, 14, 15).

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Zoonotic diseases in the Mediterranean: a brief introduction Aristarhos M. Seimenis

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