Ⅰ. Background and Aims of Research
1. Necessity and purpose of research
❏ The national public health crisis is accelerating due to the influx of common infectious diseases such as COVID-19, African Swine Fever (ASF), and Avian Influenza (AI), and ...
Ⅰ. Background and Aims of Research
1. Necessity and purpose of research
❏ The national public health crisis is accelerating due to the influx of common infectious diseases such as COVID-19, African Swine Fever (ASF), and Avian Influenza (AI), and the spread of zoonotic diseases caused by climate change and changes in life and culture.
ㅇ (Introduction) The recent pandemic of COVID-19 worldwide (April 2020), the introduction of MERS into Korea (September 2018), and the continued occurrence of human infection with avian influenza in China.
ㅇ (Zoonosis) The risk of infection increases due to changes in the ecological environment, such as damage to the ecosystem due to climate change and development projects, the dispersal of wildlife, and the spread of introduced species.
ㅇ (Prolongation, naturalization) As the continuous occurrence of zoonotic diseases is repeated due to seasonal population fluctuations, movement, and spread according to the life history of wildlife, the burden on the national health system is increased.
ㅇ (Post-response) Zoonotic disease response is carried out with a defensive strategy to respond to after the outbreak, and while developing vaccines and treatments, follow-up systems to deal with matters such as a surge in economic damage are vulnerable and limited.
❏ As active, preemptive, and proactive response policies are required to limit and control the fundamental causes of infectious diseases rather than passive crisis responses of “response after occurrence” it is necessary to establish an integrated disease-ecological assessment system to ensure an organic linkage between environmental conservation and biodiversity policies.
ㅇInfectious disease outbreaks including zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19 (e.g. bat), African Swine Fever (spring, summer), and avian influenza (autumn, winter) occur repeatedly every year, but prediction and prevention systems are insufficient, so it is urgent to establish a seasonal management system according to seasonal occurrence and spread.
ㅇ It is necessary to establish a proactive system for the inflow, diffusion, and response of proactive disease mediators and to regularly operate the disease-ecointegration system to assess sensitivity and vulnerability to zoonotic diseases.
2. Purpose of the research
❏ It aims to establish an Integrated Disease-Ecology Assessment System (IDEA System) to prevent zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19 and conduct comprehensive research on developing a prediction/prevention system for ecology-based diseases.
ㅇ (Fundamental preparation) Laying the foundation for establishing an introduction-spread-response system based on spatial-ecology.
ㅇ(Assessment system) Establishment of a risk-response assessment framework and system by examining the entire process based on the ecology and topography of zoonotic diseases.
ㅇ(Prevention system) Establishment of an zoonotic disease prevention system based on an integrated assessment of national biological resources.
Ⅱ. Current Status of Ecology-based Assessment of Zoonotic Diseases
1. Zoonotic diseases and pandemics in Korea
❏ Considering the biological geographic characteristics of the Korean Peninsula, it is necessary to establish and operate a sophisticated assessment system that takes into account various ecological intersections and frequent introduction of zoonotic diseases, both into Korea and from Korea to other countries.
ㅇ As it is at the intersection of internationally important migratory bird networks and a peninsula connected to a continent, various species are distributed on it and pass through it, resulting in areas where conflicts between conservation as an ecological center and development, and biodiversity and disease spread occur.
ㅇ In the case of avian influenza, new types of mutations continue to occur and continuous risk exposure is inevitably intensified due to the biological geographic characteristics of the Korean Peninsula seen in various regions.
2.Shifting to the ecological perspective in viewing infectious diseases
❏ Predicting and mapping the diseases, the most basic approach to identify the occurrence of infectious diseases, is not easy due to limited data, so an approach from the ecological perspective to secure reliability is needed.
❏ In order to quantify disease progression, it is necessary to establish a risk assessment system and predictable assessment model through the fusion of information on the disease and information on the distribution and movement of reservoirs.
ㅇIn order to develop a disease prediction model, various assessment systems using machine learning including quantitative analysis algorithms and artificial intelligence and so on are required.
❏ As to policy development for proactive risk assessment and disease prediction, it is necessary to introduce basic ecological surveys and advanced assessment tools for secured data, and further introduce concepts and methods related to pandemic diseases in the socio-economic field.
ㅇ In order to expand policy efforts related to pandemic diseases at the global level beyond regions and the nation, it is necessary to prepare a unified assessment system such as one for both local impact and global spread prediction.
Ⅲ. Analysis Based on Integrated Disease-Ecological Assessment of Major Zoonotic diseases Occurring in Korea
1.Base analysis of the ecology of bats in Korea and the naturalization of infectious diseases related to COVID-19
❏ As a host of coronavirus such as COVID-19, “bats” are mammals like humans and have a relatively low interspecies barrier, which are highly likely to spread various diseases, but there are few studies on bats in Korea.
ㅇ The Ministry of Environment’s National Institute of Environmental Research has conducted research on early detection and the characteristics of the distribution of infectious diseases in wild mammals such as bats since 2016.
- A detailed distribution study of classification groups such as the winter waterbird census has not been conducted.
- Specialized studies in species that transmit infectious diseases including bats are also insufficient.
- In 2016, 16 cases of coronavirus were detected in 672 bat samples, which is about 2.3%.
- Continuous monitoring of bats and virus testing are required.
❏ As the strategies and tools used to cope with viral infectious diseases can be applied after the virus has already been identified and the data verified, ecology-based research is needed to identify the virus in advance or to study the changing patterns of viruses in the future.
ㅇ New zoonotic diseases are mostly related to wild animals, and contact in the capture and consumption process of wild animals can be the main cause, and largely, changes in wildlife habitats due to climate change and industrialization are another cause.
ㅇ Frequent contact between humans or livestock and wildlife due to changes in wildlife habitats is associated with the occurrence of new infectious diseases.
2. Time-series spatial distribution and habitat usability assessment of major reservoirs in Korea
❏ To prepare an avian influenza introduction-spread-response system, it is necessary to conduct bird ecological analysis such as analysis of environmental factors related to migratory bird migration, linkage with seasonal climate prospects, biodiversity assessment, life history, and EIA assessment of breeding location.
ㅇPrediction of the distribution of avian influenza reservoirs using 19 bioclimatic variables during 2014~2018.
- As environmental factors other than climate, elevation, land cover, slope, incense, valley, etc. are used.
ㅇ Prediction of the distribution of Bean geese (Anser fablis) as a species expected to be damaged by avian influenza and assessment of the risk of contact with possible farms.
- The degree to which the distribution area of the predicted Bean geese overlaps with the poultry farm area is 22% of the total poultry farm area.
- Looking at the distribution area of bean geese overlapping with poultry farms, the area overlapping for five months is assessed as 499km2, followed by four months 421km2, three months 375km2, two months 520 km2, and one month 1,140km2.
- The results of distribution prediction and contact risk of bean geese, which were major reservoirs of AI outbreaks in 2020~2021, are similar to the actual occurrence status.
❏ Considering the characteristics of wild Boars(Sus scrofa) that live throughout the year and do not have a clear breeding period, it is judged that space use is mainly affected by changes in the environment over time rather than direct effects according to different time periods.
ㅇ In the case of wild boars, unlike birds, the model accuracy is somewhat low, but it is confirmed that the distribution areas are similar by quarter every season.
- Wild boars breed during spring and summer, so they go to farms and livestock houses to find food mainly in autumn and winter, which may increase the risk of contact, raising the need to maintain a monitoring system throughout the year.
Ⅳ.How to Utilize Biodiversity Assessment for Integrated Disease- Ecology Assessment
❏ Securing mitochondrial genomic sequences for 119 species(95.2%) out of 125 species of mammals in Korea using GenBank and building Bayesian inference-based phylogenetic trees.
ㅇ Create diversity maps of mammals according to the ‘National Biodiversity Map(draft)’ presented in previous studies.
- Both the phylogenetic diversity map and species diversity map show that northern Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Chungcheongnam-do have high diversity, and the two assessment results can be used complementarily to establish an integrated disease- ecology assessment system.
ㅇ Analysis of the impact in terms of biodiversity on wild boar removal strategies for ASF response using a phylogenetic diversity assessment technique.
- Using the positive correlation between biodiversity and top predators in the natural ecosystem, the persistence of ecological equilibrium due to the wild boar removal strategy is assessed.
- The ecosystem equilibrium was maintained in early 2020, but the collapsed ecosystem balance continued until mid-to-late 2020 and early 2021, which means that disturbance occurred in the ecosystem equilibrium due to the removal of wild boars.
Ⅴ. Conclusion and Suggestions
❏ Since assessment and prediction of zoonotic diseases connote a high level of uncertainty, there are limitations in establishing research and policy response strategies. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an assessment- based system for seasonal effects and biodiversity structures in clusters.
ㅇThe final outcome of this study is an integrated disease-ecology assessment system for preventing infectious diseases transmitted by wildlife, and this study aimed to establish an ecology-based disease prediction/prevention system for proactive policy support.
- As a first-year study, this report analyzes the current status of major zoonotic diseases in Korea, the scope of distribution of major reservoirs according to environmental information, and the risk of direct damage to facilities such as poultry farms.
- A genetic information-based phylogenetic diagram was built and a phylogenetic diversity assessment indices for domestic mammals was developed to suggest ways to utilize biodiversity assessment for establishing an integrated assessment system.
❏ It is necessary to minimize various uncertainties related to diseases such as uncommon infectious diseases, especially those that are transmitted by wildlife, in terms of how they will spread, when the outbreak will occur, and so on, and to establish a policy response system.
ㅇ In establishing a management plan, it is necessary to establish a spatial management plan based on life-history traits, habitat characteristics, and disease-ecology big data on disease occurrence status.
❏ The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs needs to establish a systematic quarantine system for animals and plants that are bred, and the Ministry of Environment needs to focus on establishing a quarantine system to prevent the spread of diseases in the wild ecosystem in order to promote biodiversity.
ㅇ In the case of developed countries abroad, such as the UK, the three-step specialization process of “monitoring the natural ecosystem-detecting viruses in samples-developing countermeasures” is implemented for zoonotic diseases.
- In the case of natural ecosystem monitoring, the status is updated every year using data from specialized institutions and the civil society.
- Virus detection and response strategies are established and reflected by relatve specialized institutions.
ㅇ In Korea, much part of the behavior guidelines on animal-borne diseases such as AI released by the Ministry of Environment overlaps with those of other ministries, causing confusion on site.
- At the national level, monitoring and forecasting (sample analysis) overlap between ministries.
- It is necessary to operate it according to competent/cooperative departments, taking into account each department’s own tasks.