Taking action now to prevent pandemics

Discovering viruses before they become harmful. It is to this end that the Ministry of Health in Benin, GIZ and Charité in Berlin are pooling their resources. Here, national health care and global pandemic prevention are closely intertwined. This is because the risk of deadly zoonotic diseases is growing with the human destruction of natural habitats.

The heat is suffocating and there is a smell of fruit and decomposition. The potential risk from the wild animal products at a voodoo market in Benin though cannot be smelt and is not visible to the naked eye. Which is why Michael Nagel is here – on the search for unknown viruses. ‘Nobody here has ever examined what pathogens the animals are carrying and how many,’ says the microbiologist from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, ‘because nobody has had access to these markets.’ In Nagel’s case, access has been arranged personally by Benin’s Minister of Health.

When and where the next pandemic will emerge is impossible to predict. However, it is clear that pathogens that jump from animals to humans and cause infectious diseases – known as zoonoses – pose the greatest danger. Almost three quarters of all newly emerging infectious diseases originate in animals. COVID 19, AIDS, Zika, bird flu, hanta, mpox, borna and rabies are just some examples. But the animals are not the root cause of the problem. Instead, the destruction of natural habitats by humans and their hunting and catching of wild animals – often in a way that is unsustainable – increase the likelihood of zoonoses, disrupting the balance of ecosystems in the process.

While habitats are shrinking, diseases are on the rise

For example, predators of typical disease vectors such as ticks or mosquitoes, but also rodents, are disappearing. Furthermore, studies show that Ebola outbreaks in Africa occur more frequently in freshly deforested areas. As vectors in the transmission of Ebola, bats are being pushed away from forest trees to encroaching settlements, as well as to farms and fields, where they come into greater contact with humans. But killing the animals for this reason would be unjustified and disastrous. On the contrary: as well as dispersing seeds and feeding on pests, bats are pollinators. In their absence, farmers are forced to use hazardous pesticides with consequences reaching all the way through to increased levels of child mortality.

Preserving biodiversity is the best way to protect human health. The International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade also contributes to these efforts. Under the leadership of Michael Nagel and on behalf of the German Development Ministry, it is working globally to protect humans from dangerous pathogens when trading and consuming wild animals. Among other things, it provides information to governments and local communities, advises on cross-border agreements and supports national and international guidelines aimed at improving regulation. Managing wildlife safely and sustainably benefits both health and the conservation of biodiversity.

In many cases, however, ecosystems have already been thrown off balance. The risk of viruses entering the human body and causing deadly diseases is therefore increasing, even though these viruses may often be harmless to animals. The partnership in Benin is opening an important door to global pandemic prevention. Benjamin Hounkpatin, Benin’s Minister of Health: ‘Only by having a detailed knowledge of pathogens is it possible to take efficient measures to prevent them spreading, develop vaccines and save people’s lives.’

Unique opportunity to find unknown viruses

The national reference laboratory in Benin identifies known pathogens and protects the population, for instance against febrile diseases that have spread regionally. GIZ has helped to set up this system in recent years. In order to enable the laboratory to continue identifying new pathogens in future, Hounkpatin turned once more to GIZ. ‘A unique opportunity,’ says Nagel. As the search for viruses requires a huge amount of resources and knowledge, he is organising a partnership with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. ‘Gaining access to the wildlife markets in Benin means that we are able to identify viruses that are living undetected in animals, including those that come into frequent contact with humans through hunting, trade and consumption.’

Wild mammals and birds are estimated to be carrying hundreds of thousands of unknown viruses with the potential to infect people. Those viruses that in future could cause illnesses in humans need to be found. Based on the similarities with and differences to known triggers of disease, the scientists from Benin and Germany are able to identify which viruses could pose a threat through their laboratory analyses.

Their findings can be applied to other viruses from around the world. ‘We need to discover the viruses that are potentially dangerous to humans before transmission occurs,’ says Nagel. ‘That is far more beneficial to the global community than responding to an outbreak of disease.’

Last update: October 2024