Ecological countermeasures for preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks: when ecological restoration is a human health imperative

Abstract

Ecological restoration should be regarded as a public health service. Unfortunately, the lack of quantitative linkages between environmental and human health has limited recognition of this principle. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic provides the impetus for further discussion. We propose ecological countermeasures as highly targeted, landscape-based interventions to arrest the drivers of land use-induced zoonotic spillover. We provide examples of ecological restoration activities that reduce zoonotic disease risk and a five-point action plan at the human-ecosystem health nexus. In conclusion, we make the case that ecological countermeasures are a tenet of restoration ecology with human health goals.

Chlamydia Psittaci ST24: Clonal Strains of One Health Importance Dominate in Australian Horse, Bird and Human Infections

“…The trans-disciplinary benefits of a One Health approach to investigate the epidemiology of C. psittaci will improve our understanding and management of risk, not just for this disease agent but for zoonoses more broadly. There are additional benefits to landscape ecosystem health [ 42 ] and to local capacity to manage threats at the animal–human–wildlife–environment interface [ 43 ].…”

Human-mediated impacts on biodiversity and the consequences for zoonotic disease spillover

“…Invasive species may also affect infectious-disease dynamics by acting as vectors or reservoir hosts 40,47,[141][142][143] , sharing pathogens with native species [144][145][146] , or providing resources for reservoirs and/or vectors 143,147 . In these cases, biodiversity conservation via invasive species control may simultaneously reduce zoonotic spillover risk 143 .…”

“…Invasive species may also affect infectious-disease dynamics by acting as vectors or reservoir hosts 40,47,[141][142][143] , sharing pathogens with native species [144][145][146] , or providing resources for reservoirs and/or vectors 143,147 . In these cases, biodiversity conservation via invasive species control may simultaneously reduce zoonotic spillover risk 143 . The same processes that drive species introductions, including global trade and travel, may also drive disease emergence, suggesting that win-win solutions for protecting ecosystems from species invasion and humans from pathogen spillover might be possible, albeit potentially challenging from a technical or political perspective 148 .…”

“…Intact and diverse contiguous landscapes may also promote landscape immunity, defined as ecological conditions that maintain and strengthen immunity in resident fauna so as to reduce pathogen susceptibility and shedding, particularly for potential reservoir species including bats and rodents 184,185 . Further, targeted habitat conservation and restoration could encourage previous migration patterns by re-creating or maintaining phenological diversity of high-quality food sources, such as nectar resources for bats 21,143 . However, in some cases, resource provisioningthrough invasive species, crops, and even waste disposal practices -may reduce migration even when endemic, phenologically diverse habitats are available 186,187 .…”

From Protein to Pandemic: The Transdisciplinary Approach Needed to Prevent Spillover and the Next Pandemic

“…Integrative approaches, such as mechanistic modeling, machine learning, and simulation, are needed to integrate data to understand these non-linear interactions, develop predictions, and identify points of intervention [ 58 , 64 , 73 , 74 , 75 ]. Once the drivers and dynamics are understood, it becomes more feasible to devise interventions that will work, for example, ecological countermeasures that address the root cause of emergence (e.g., modification of land cover [ 76 ]) or medical countermeasures that can be deployed in response to predicted spillover events.…”