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

Tierra Smiley Evans, Zhengli Shi, Michael Boots, Wenjun Liu, Kevin J. Olival, Xiangming Xiao, Sue Vandewoude, Heidi Brown, Ji Long Chen, David J. Civitello, Luis Escobar, Yrjo Grohn, Hongying Li, Karen Lips, Qiyoung Liu, Jiahai Lu, Beatriz Martínez-López, Jishu Shi, Xiaolu Shi, Biao XuLihong Yuan, Guoqiang Zhu, Wayne M. Getz

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)160-173
Number of pages14
JournalEcoHealth
Volume17
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2020

Keywords

  • China
  • Ecology
  • Emerging infectious diseases
  • Pandemic
  • Preparedness
  • Training
  • USA

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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