Australia surrounded by plague ring of fire

[Guest guest]

Australia surrounded by plague hot-spots, Monday, 05 January 2009

The 'ring of fire' surrounding Australia's north could

lead to the introduction of devastating new plagues.

by Australian Biosecurity CRC for Emerging Infectious Disease

Australia is surrounded to its north by a `ring of fire' where new

human and animal plagues are likely to erupt without warning, with

potentially devastating consequences.

" A study by one of our partners has revealed a number of global

hot-spots where new and unknown diseases are most likely to erupt –

and it turns out that one of the hottest is spread in an arc to

Australia's north, " says Australian Biosecurity ative Research

Centre for Emerging Infectious Disease (AB-CRC) chief executive

officer Dr Prowse.

" We're in the front line for outbreaks of diseases like SARS, bird

flu, Nipah virus, enterovirus 71 and chikungunya – which infect both

people and animals. Such diseases are most likely to emerge in our

region, " Dr Prowse says.

The study highlights the vital importance of developing and

maintaining effective disease surveillance in our region – as often

the only defence against a new disease is to spot it early, before it

spreads. However it also offers scope to anticipate where new plagues

could arise.

The study of global disease hot-spots was carried out by Dr

Daszak and colleagues of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine in

New York, a partner of the AB-CRC.

" We've developed an `earthquake zone' map for emerging diseases. It

shows which countries are most likely to be on the front line of an

emerging pandemic. We now have a way to predict the places from where

the next HIV, SARS or avian influenza is likely to emerge, " Dr Daszak

says.

" Our risk map shows that Australia is surrounded to the north by a

`ring of fire' – countries that are some of the hottest of the

hot-spots. This means Australia needs to be forward thinking in its

approach to biosecurity risk. "

And that is exactly what we are doing, says AB-CRC CEO Dr Prowse. " The

map is fascinating because of what it tells us of the probability of

new diseases emerging or of old diseases – like rabies for example -

re-emerging. It also invites us to think much more creatively about

how we go about preventing them. "

Instead of relying on a handful of overworked professional doctors and

vets spread across an enormous area to spot new plagues, Dr Prowse

believes Australia can help to develop a regional " neighbourhood

watch " involving farmers, teachers, other healthcare professionals and

even ordinary citizens on the lookout for unexplained sickness or

deaths in animals or people.

" New and emerging diseases rarely have any form of treatment and death

rates can be quite high – as in the case of Nipah virus which kills

about half of those who contract it, " he says. " The best course is to

stamp out the bushfire before it takes hold and spreads. "

The importance of early detection and diagnosis is paramount, he adds.

" The rapid diagnosis test developed by our partners was very important

in helping to eradicate of equine influenza (EI) in Australia

following the recent outbreak. We played a critical part in getting

the test into the major veterinary laboratories in the country. This

meant that it was possible to quickly establish if the disease was

present or not and take the proper steps to contain and eradicate it. "

EI was a warning of what can happen when a major disease gets loose,

whether among humans or livestock, he says.

Meanwhile some old pestilences are emerging anew: bluetongue is

spreading again in Europe - possibly due to climate change - rabies is

on the comeback in Bali, and foot-and-mouth disease remains a huge

problem in many regions of South-East Asia.

The Asian tiger mosquito – a feared carrier of several deadly diseases

– is spreading worldwide due to trade and possibly climate change.

" It's a genuine barbecue-stopper, " says Dr Prowse. " It can carry

deadly diseases like dengue fever and chikungunya. "

That Australia has unknown diseases of its own was graphically shown

in recent cases of Hendra virus and Bungowannah virus. Also koalas are

being wiped out in record numbers by a new retrovirus.

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20090501-18615-2.html