Encouraging a holistic approach in the fight against infectious diseases

Infectious diseases, the main causes of human mortality according to the WHO, have always been a particular concern for society. In a context of global change, the fight against infectious diseases remains a major challenge for the future and especially for Dominique Pontier and François-Loïc Cosset, researchers at the Université de Lyon. Their research has been published for the Health Innovation forum that took place on March 13, at ENS de Lyon. Most human pathogens have a "zoonotic" origin, i.e. coming from the animal world and are transmitted by direct or indirect contact, via various species, including hematophagous arthropods (mosquitoes, ticks, etc.), micromammals, bats, etc. Whether it be the recent epidemics of the Zika and Nipah viruses, carried by mosquitoes and bats, or the (re) emergence of previous threats such as hemorrhagic fever viruses (Ebola, Lassa, Crimean-Congo fevers), everything indicates that infectious (re) emerging diseases will remain a major concern for human and veterinary health for a long time. Therefore, it is not surprising that zoonoses currently represent the most important infectious danger to humans, posing major public health problems and crucial issues for the future. We must remind ourselves that human activity greatly increases the frequency and severity of infectious (re) emerging diseases as it disrupts host, vector and pathogen interactions at different scales.