How future pandemics can be prevented

Several African countries are highly susceptible to outbreaks of infectious diseases that can threaten both public health and societal development. Examples of this are the outbreaks of Ebola (2013-2016) in West Africa, and Mpox in Congo and the Marburg virus in Rwanda, which have emerged this fall.

Important causes of such disease outbreaks are the combination of high population growth and urbanization, growth in agriculture, and rapid changes in natural conditions. This can lead to more frequent contact and transmission of diseases between wild animals and humans, also known as zoonotic diseases. In some cases, this can develop into pandemics that can spread to the rest of the world, as was the case with the COVID-19 pandemic.

How can African countries, which often have underdeveloped healthcare systems, infrastructure, and community preparedness, prepare for the changes that are coming?

Building up expertise

Facts about the One Health project

Supported by NORHED II
Runs from 2021 to 2026
40 master's students, 8 scholars, and 3 postdoctoral researchers are involved in the project
A key goal of the project is to map out how to prevent diseases from developing into pandemics.
UiT is responsible for coordinating the project

Seven PhD students from Ethiopia and Malawi are now working to find answers to such questions at UiT Campus Narvik, at the IVT faculty. Their dissertations address scenarios for the development of new disease outbreaks in Ethiopia and Malawi. They are researching how diseases can be detected, monitored, and reported. They are also designing recommendations on how better guidelines and methods for the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases can be developed.

UiT provides guidance to the PhD students through the One Health project, subtitled "The Urban-Suburban Nexus towards One Health". The project has been awarded 20 million NOK from the NORHED II program. UiT collaborates with two universities in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Blantyre in Malawi. An important goal of the project is to build comprehensive expertise on what constitutes effective preparedness against disease spread, based on research that is interdisciplinary and spans across societal sectors.

The insights we gain from the research in Ethiopia and Malawi can lead to innovative solutions for managing health risks in similar environments worldwide.

UiT plays a crucial role

Fasil Ejigu Eregno, Associate Professor at the Department of Civil, Energy, and Material Technology, is UiT's coordinator for the project. He emphasizes that UiT has taken on a significant responsibility for the implementation of the research education.

A portrait photo. — Fasil Ejigu Eregno, UiT's One Health coordinator. Foto: Christian Halvorsen / UiT.

"The role of UiT in this project is crucial and includes everything from idea generation and concept development, to identifying fields where there is a need for new knowledge and coordinating the activities together with partners. In addition, UiT researchers contribute with health and environment as their specialty, providing teaching and scientific guidance", Eregno points out.

The focal point of the research is on how the public health in local communities is linked to access to food, water, energy, housing, and proper waste management. That such resources are managed by adopting integrated and sustainable solutions is an important premise for the project.

UiT’s partners in the One Health project

Addis Ababa University (AAU)
Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST)
Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI)
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)

"It is important to understand the complex connections between water-food-energy. An intervention in one area can have significant effects on others. These three factors are crucial for preventing and controlling zoonotic diseases, as they affect the conditions that allow these diseases to arise and spread", says Eregno.

It is important to understand the complex connections between water-food-energy. An intervention in one area can have significant effects on others. These three factors are crucial for preventing and controlling zoonotic diseases.

Researching disease prevention

The PhD students are researching various measures that can help monitor, prevent, or control disease outbreaks in Ethiopia and Malawi. Here are some examples:

How to monitor outbreaks of rabies in humans, or tuberculosis, and how to improve access to treatment afterward.
How to track the links between animal and human contact, environmental factors, and genetic mechanisms that lead to resistance to medicines.
Identifying infections transmitted from water contaminated by sewage and heavy metals.
Analyzing the degree of infection risks and how it is possible to reduce the extent of waterborne diseases, find alternative water sources, and improve waste management.
Discovering how disease spread through food production, especially concerning milk and vegetables.

Eregno believes the PhD students contributes with valuable knowledge and strategies to the global effort to prevent and manage pandemics.

"By understanding and reducing the factors that lead to disease outbreaks and spread, the research can help strengthen global health security and preparedness. The insights we gain from the research in Ethiopia and Malawi can lead to innovative solutions for managing health risks in similar environments worldwide, which can be adapted and applied in other regions facing comparable challenges", concludes Eregno.

Bredesen, Kim kim.bredesen@uit.no Rådgiver

Published: 30.09.24 15:20 Updated: 02.10.24 13:20

Health