‘One Health’ to work for control of zoonotic diseases

Nagpur: Country’s first ‘One Health’ consortium project to develop a holistic approach to control zoonotic and transboundary diseases was launched at Wildlife Research Training Centre (WRTC) at Gorewada in the city on Monday.
The project kicked off at the hands of state forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. “I’m happy that WRTC was chosen for the initiative. I will ensure all support to Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University (MAFSU) and WRTC to strengthen wildlife research,” said Mungantiwar.
The WRTC has been identified as a wildlife component centre under the ‘Establishment of Consortium for One Health’ which includes the north-east region. The project is funded by the department of biotechnology (DBT) under the ministry of science and technology.
Dr AK Rawat, consultant of the DBT-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) ‘One Health’ project in Delhi, said, “It is an ambitious project having 27 centres across the country involving 18 veterinary-related and 8 human health-related institutes. WRTC is the only centre in the country that would work for the wildlife component.”
Currently, the information available on wildlife diseases is sparse. Under the project, a detailed investigation of zoonotic diseases like brucellosis, tuberculosis, coxiellosis, cryptosporidiosis, cysticercosis, Japanese encephalitis, leptospirosis, scrub typhus, toxoplasmosis and listeriosis will be done.
The project will also investigate transboundary diseases of significance including avian influenza, African swine fever, classical swine fever, porcine respiratory reproductive syndrome (PRRS), porcine epidemic diarrhoea, and transmissible gastroenteritis.
Forest officials said an outlay of Rs 64 lakh has been sanctioned for WRTC for a period of three years. Two junior research fellows (JRFs) have been appointed under the project and equipment worth 4 lakh has been procured to facilitate the research work at WRTC. The project outcome will be valuable in terms of policy formulation and public health initiatives.
Mafsu VC Ashish Paturkar chaired the function. Bhandara MP Sunil Mendhe, PCCF YLP Rao, FDCM MD Vikas Gupta, PCCF (wildlife) Maheep Gupta, Gorewada director Shatanik Bhagwat, WRTC director Dr Shirish Upadhye, deputy directors Dr Vinod Dhoot and Dr Ajay Gawande, Dr Bhagyashri Bhadane, Dr Mayur Pawshe, Dr Sujit Kolangath, ACF HV Madbhushi, and others were present.
Dr Upadhye said, “The centre assists the forest department in various aspects of wildlife management including health management, forensics, and investigation of the deaths, diseases and crimes in wildlife. It also extends technical assistance to the department through the provision of expert advice in policy matters.”
Zoo director Bhagwat said, “It was in this context, the WRTC was identified as a wildlife component centre under the ‘One Health’. A dedicated animal hospital with the latest facilities and research lab for wildlife is available at WRTC. The centre is working in collaboration with the forest department in health care, rescue, and rehabilitation of wildlife in distress. It has also been granted permission to carry out wildlife research.”