Zoonotic Emergence Network (ZEN) in Malaysia & China

Hunting wildlife for food occurs all over the world, and brings people into contact with a multitude of species, and as a result, a vast number of known and unknown pathogens that may cause disease in people. HIV is an example of a virus transmitted from primates to hunters in Africa, and we believe that this type of viral spillover occurs frequently in cultures where bushmeat hunting is prevalent and in people who are highly exposed to wildlife. Similarly, wildlife markets that are prevalent in Asia may be a major risk for viral spillover, as the case in 2005 with the SARS coronavirus in China.

EcoHealth Alliance (formerly Wildlife Trust) is working with Dr. Nathan Wolfe of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative to study the risk of viral emergence in highly exposed groups of people in Malaysia and China - where viruses like Nipah virus, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1), and SARS are present. In China, we've been given unprecedented access to the workers at the wet markets where SARS first emerged. These people are on the front line of disease emergence, with incredibly high contact with a diversity of animals. In Malaysia, we have developed a network of wildlife hunters and indigenous people and are working with the Ministry of Health and the Wildlife Department to test both hunters and their prey for evidence of transmission of known and unknown viruses between them to predict and prevent the next endemic spillover.

Project Partners:

• Global Viral Forecasting Initiative
• Malaysian Ministry of Health
• Malaysia Department of Wildlife and National Parks
• Malaysia Department of Veterinary Services
• Guangdong Entomological Institute
• Chinese Institute of Zoology
• Guangdong Centers for Disease Control (GCDC)

Publications