Synergistic China-US Ecological Research is Essential for Global Emerging Infectious Disease Preparedness

Abstract

The risk of a zoonotic pandemic disease threatens hundreds of millions of people. Emerging infectious diseases also threaten livestock and wildlife populations around the world and can lead to devastating economic damages. China and the USA-due to their unparalleled resources, widespread engagement in activities driving emerging infectious diseases and national as well as geopolitical imperatives to contribute to global health security-play an essential role in our understanding of pandemic threats. Critical to efforts to mitigate risk is building upon existing investments in global capacity to develop training and research focused on the ecological factors driving infectious disease spillover from animals to humans. International cooperation, particularly between China and the USA, is essential to fully engage the resources and scientific strengths necessary to add this ecological emphasis to the pandemic preparedness strategy. Here, we review the world's current state of emerging infectious disease preparedness, the ecological and evolutionary knowledge needed to anticipate disease emergence, the roles that China and the USA currently play as sources and solutions to mitigating risk, and the next steps needed to better protect the global community from zoonotic disease.

Keywords: China; Ecology; Emerging infectious diseases; Pandemic; Preparedness; Training; USA.

Figure 1

Factors contributing to China, USA and rest of the world’s stake in emerging infectious disease preparedness. (Since values vary with sources and each source updates its estimates from time to time, the actual numbers reported here are not definitive, but should be treated with circumspection.)

Figure 2

One Health concepts impacting emerging infectious diseases. Climate Change: With the introduction of Zika virus into the Americas, changes in maximum occurrence of mosquito vectors in the USA, due to a changing climate, impact risk of Zika virus distribution. Human Ecology: High-risk human behaviors involving contact with farmed wild animals contributed to the emergence of SARS. Biodiversity: Alteration of wild animal reservoir host populations impacts spillover risk for zoonotic infectious diseases. Animal Host Ecology: Distribution of the bat reservoir hosts for Ebola virus (species Zaire ebolavirus) likely caused the first human outbreak in West Africa. Together with the impact of global trade and travel, these case examples of the interconnectedness of humans, animals and the environment demonstrate how human and animal ecology influence the global spread of disease.

Figure 3

Current and projected future contributions to research involving the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases from China, the USA and the rest of the world based on the published literature.