Coronaviruses roadmap:
Control Strategies
Roadmap for the development of disease control strategies for coronaviruses
Download 202410 Draft Coronavirus Disease control research roadmap FinalC
Biosecurity
Biosecurity
Research Question
- Acceptable and effective biosecurity protocols adapted to a range of specific contexts
- Consideration needs to be given that biosecurity is for agricultural to wildlife AND vice-versa as a two-way route and the management approaches could differ widely
Research Gaps and Challenges
- In South East Asia, farming practices are integrated and limiting for bio-security. Economic costs also factors in this region and it’s challenging convince farmers to utilise biosecurity measures due to costs. Integrated (mixed animal) farming systems support inter-species mingling and potential disease spread between species
- Cost of implementation, and willingness/ability to invest in the sector generally if there is no quantifiable benefit or empirical evidence of its efficacy
- Applicability of biosecurity in certain field settings where resources may be limited
- Evaluation of biosecurity measures (e.g., efficacy and benefits) in different contexts. Disinfectants are often not suitable for all pathogens, and there may also be off-target consequences of misuse e.g. increases resistance and/or driving mutations. We have a poor understanding of the host-animal-environment interface where transmission occurs
- Daily engagement in biosecurity from workers/animal owners
- Consideration to the long-term unknown consequences to the environment
Solution Routes
- Conducting cost-benefits of accessible biosecurity measures to identify areas where most impact could be achieved economically. Empirically demonstrating the benefits of biosecurity across different scenarios
- Adapting biosecurity measures to local settings, especially in low- and middle-income regions where resources are constrained.
- Social science approaches (e.g. focus groups with end-users) to co-design solutions to increase acceptability.
Dependencies
- Need to better understand interactions where transmission may occur between wildlife and domestic animals for example, so that sufficient biosecurity measures can be identified (e.g. physical barriers).
- Identifying and quantifying the value/benefit of biosecurity measures especially where measures do not yield cost-savings. This needs to be communicated to end-users, policy decision-makers and other external stakeholders to allow for evidence-based decision-making.
- Defining biosecurity and creating a narrative of context – biosecurity currently doesn’t mean anything to some sectors.
- Understanding the risks of using biosecurity tools – this requires study of the measures themselves.
State Of the Art
- Some countries link disease compensation to participation in surveillance systems and adoption of biosecurity standards
Projects
What activities are planned or underway?
Differential susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 in animals : Evidence of ACE2 host receptor distribution in companion animals, livestock and wildlife by immunohistochemical characterisation
Planned Completion date 26/07/2021
Participating Country(s):
Netherlands
Veterinary Biocontained facility Network for excellence in animal infectiology research and experimentation
Planned Completion date 28/02/2023
Participating Country(s):
Europe