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US scientists estimate that three out of four new or emerging infectious diseases in humans come from animals. This is because populations spread and invade areas where before there was only wildlife, this causes viruses to mutate until they become suitable for infecting humans.
Zoonotic diseases, that is, those that arise between animals but are adapted to be transmitted to man, are becoming more common. Recently, two examples were Covid-19 and monkeypox.
Well, this scenario led the Government of Uganda to build a laboratory that tracks zoonotic infections in national parks, where many communities live close to a wide variety of wildlife. According to Ugandan experts, it was previously very difficult to make these diagnoses in the country.
“Currently, this lab has three types of capabilities. One, we can do diagnostics. Two, we can do forensics, I mean, we’re developing a pipeline for forensics, especially for wildlife. And then we investigate, and when we do investigation we investigate pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic protozoa, we also investigate viral pathogens,” explained Gloria Akurut, a molecular biologist at the Uganda Wildlife Zoonotic Laboratory.
US scientists estimate that three out of four new or emerging infectious diseases in humans come from animals. This is because populations spread and invade areas where before there was only wildlife, this causes viruses to mutate until they become suitable for infecting humans. The laboratory is located in Mweya, in the west of the country, and is the first of its kind in the region.
“We know that the communities around, especially in this park, are into eating wildlife. When they find carcasses, they eat them, especially hippo carcasses. If someone eats a carcass, they don’t know the cause of death. It’s a risk to them because you don’t know what killed it, what if it’s a pathogen that can kill you,” Akurut added.
Since opening its doors a few months ago, the lab has already launched research into possible diseases that could pose a threat to global public health.
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