Martin Raiser, Vice President for the South Asia Region, World Bank, on Friday underscored the need for continued vigilance against zoonotic diseases.
‘’It requires continued vigilance. Because of the nature of these diseases, the problem is we don’t know which the next one is going to be,’‘ Mr. Raiser, who met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and senior government officials in Thiruvananthapuram, said on Friday.
He pointed out that in India, Kerala is the most forward-thinking in terms of the One Health concept and zoonotic diseases.
‘’We might find it easy to detect past ones that have already happened somewhere else in the world, the real trick is, can you detect the next one that you don’t know about yet? And for that, you need continued vigilance,’‘ Mr. Raiser said.
Mr. Raiser also drew attention to a new article, uploaded on the World Bank’s blog this month, on Kerala’s experience in tackling the menace caused by the Giant African Snail.
‘’The One Health concept has gained in importance because expanding populations are entering new geographic areas, creating more opportunities for diseases to pass between animals and humans,’‘ the article, India: One Health in Action - Fighting the Giant Snail Menace in Kerala, notes.
