£20.5 Million to Combat Global Animal Disease

December 10, 2014 — 

A £20.5 million programme of research and training to tackle diseases that could pass from animals to humans has been funded by six UK partners. [Source: The PigSite.com]

Over the next five years the Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) programme will fund 11 projects in developing countries in Africa, south Asia and south east Asia, bringing together expertise from the human and animal health sectors. In addition, £1.5 million of funding will give 15 students from the UK and developing countries doctoral training in ZELS-related research.

Zoonoses are diseases capable of passing from animals to humans and are estimated to have cost more than $20 billion in direct costs globally between 2000-2010, with a further $200 billion in indirect costs. As well as threatening human and animal health, zoonoses affect livestock production, causing economic and social harm to communities in developed and developing countries.

The programme is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Department for International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

By bringing together world-class scientists from various disciplines and from around the globe, the programme aims to improve the health and well-being of animals, humans and the environment and, ultimately, enhance the lives of millions of people.