Indicators for human exposures to zoonotic pathogens

Overview

This report presents a WHO–PREZODE collaboration to develop and validate standardized indicators that assess the risk of zoonotic disease emergence by modeling pathogen circulation in animals and the risk of animal to human zoonotic spillover. The proposed indicators are intended to be actionable, i.e., to reflect the impact of the implementation of a prevention strategy along the process of zoonotic pathogen emergence and over time.

Using expert-driven data from various contributors, the indicators were shown to correlate with documented Avian Influenza Virus and MERS-CoV events and to be actionable in simulating and guiding effective zoonotic disease prevention strategies.

The indicators were also tested through a simulation of prevention strategies targeting specific aspects of zoonotic disease transmission. These simulations showed the actionability of the proposed indicators in guiding effective prevention strategies.

This initiative provides actionable tools to measure, monitor, and mitigate the emergence of zoonotic diseases.