Problems and countermeasures in the surveillance and research of wildlife epidemics based on mammals in china

Abstract

Recent epidemics, such as the COVID-2019 pandemic, SARS, and rodent plague, pose a major threat to public health, food security, and ecosystem balance globally. These epidemics have all been caused, directly or indirectly, by pathogens found in mammals or other animal vectors. Based on the status of recent terrestrial wildlife epidemics in China, this study summarizes the regulatory and monitoring mechanisms for 24 important diseases occurring in wild mammals, captive breeding wild animals, and domesticated mammals in China, and then identifies gaps in regulation and knowledge for these zoonotic diseases in China. Due to the diversity of pathogens and their transmission routes, these zoonotic diseases have had frequent outbreaks in recent decades, and preventing and controlling them has become one major challenge. Currently, China’s important wildlife epidemics are monitored and controlled by different levels and directives of multiple governmental agencies. The increasing global trade, poaching, illegal wildlife trade, illegal wildlife captive breeding, consumption of wild animals, and lax quarantine processes have led to complex chains of transmission, increasing risk of contact, infection, and transmission of these diseases. Additionally, the frequent occurrence of extreme climate events or natural disasters further complicate the prevention and control of these wildlife epidemics at their sources. Based on these problems in managing and controlling new and recurrent epidemics in China, we propose some countermeasures and suggestions to strengthen basic research and whole-chain supervision in order to actively prevent terrestrial wildlife epidemics.