VOLUME 15 NUMBER 1 (January to June 2022)

PSL%202021 vol14-no01-p12-28-Mikita%20and%20Padlan

SciEnggJ. 2022 15 (1) 001-016
available online: January 31, 2022

*Corresponding author
Email Address: marianne.lee@obf.ateneo.edu
Date received: March 08, 2021
Date revised: December 17, 2021
Date accepted: January 19, 2022

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ARTICLE

Zoonotic pathogens from illegally traded wildlife justify adopting the One Health perspective in disease response

Lee, Marianne Allison G.*¹, Valeza, Vinyl Joseph S.^1,2, Yan, Jonathan Patrick H.¹, and Cruz, Ronald Allan L.¹

¹Ateneo Wildlife Trade Research and Advocacy Group,
     Department of Biology, School of Science and Engineering,
     Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights,
     Quezon City 1108, Philippines
²College of Medicine, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila,
     Gen. Luna cor. Muralla St., Intramuros Manila 1002, Philippines

Recent studies have described a direct relationship between the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in human populations. In the Philippines, the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (PIDSR) framework outlines the monitoring, response, and management of disease outbreaks, but needs to be updated in the wake of zoonoses from IWT. Here, we identified zoonotic pathogens that may be introduced to human populations through the IWT, pinpointed potential outbreak hotspots, and provided recommendations on how to improve the Philippines’ public health response while considering One Health. Using seizure data from the Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) covering the period from 2010 to 2016, we found that birds (32.3% of volume) and reptiles (63.3% of volume) were the most frequently seized by law enforcement in terms of incidence and volume. About 54% of seized wildlife could potentially host zoonotic pathogens with bacteria (78.3%), protozoa (34.8%), and viruses (27.5%) being the most represented pathogen groups. Three cities in Metro Manila together accounted for 30% of all seizures in the country followed by Palawan province which accounted for about 28% of seizures. Of the twelve epidemic prone diseases identified in the PIDSR, five diseases were found to have causative agents that could potentially be hosted by the traded wildlife. These findings will not only enhance the approach to surveillance in the PIDSR but will also aid in identifying opportunities to improve policies on agriculture and food security, public health and disease surveillance, and biodiversity conservation.