COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of monitoring the increasingly permeable border between human and animal health, said experts during a BIO Digital panel on emerging zoonotic diseases.
We need a One Health approach of addressing human, animal, and environmental health, panelists agreed. “Biotechnology is the technology that really brings this together in a unique way,” said Eddie Sullivan, CEO of SAB Biotherapeutics—and we need to use it to get ready for the next pandemic.
The panel highlighted a few examples...
You may remember SAB. Early in the pandemic, the company genetically engineered cattle to produce a polyclonal human antibody candidate.
Zoetis, the world’s largest animal health company, tracks emerging pathogens that “may spill over into the human side.” Last week, they began shipping a COVID vaccine for mink. It was originally targeted to dogs and cats, but USDA prioritized mink due to cross infections between them and human handlers.
“Sampling fish tissues and pathogens can really help us understand outbreaks and apply pressure at the right points in the supply chain,” added Timothy Bouley, Co-Founder of BioFeyn, a start-up applying human health research in developing nanoparticles to improve nutrition in fish.
“Ample surveillance is critically important for helping us find problems early, and it should apply to all types of animals—not just traditional livestock,” said Capt. Casey Barton Behraesh, who heads the CDC’s world-leading One Health Office.
Listen: In yesterday’s new episode of the I am BIO Podcast, experts explained how a One Health approach helped us tackle COVID-19.
More Agriculture and Environment News:
Reuters: Biden considers giving refiners relief from U.S. biofuel laws, sources say
“[U]nder pressure from labor unions and U.S. senators including from his home state of Delaware, is considering ways to provide relief to U.S. oil refiners from biofuel blending mandates.”
