IAEA and PREZODE to collaborate in fight against zoonotic diseases

A cooperative effort was enacted against zoonotic diseases this week, with an agreement reached between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and France’s Preventing Zoonotic Disease Emergence (PREZODE) initiative.

Members of the IAEA’s Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative and PREZODE declared their intent to fight diseases that spread from animals to humans, although it remains to be seen the specific forms this collaboration will take. For the moment, they are exploring ways they can build on one another’s efforts, be it through capacity improvement or participating in each other’s events.

“As all of us have experienced over the past year and a half, the current pandemic has shaken the world and continues to plague much of it,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. “For this reason, we must work together and create sustainable partnerships to provide efficient and effective support to countries to prevent future pandemics. Our cooperation with PREZODE will create synergies that will benefit the global efforts in this fight.”

The IAEA estimates up to 60 percent of known human infectious diseases originate in animals. These have led to zoonotic diseases that affect 2.6 billion people and kill as many as 2.2 million on average each year.

After launching last year, ZODIAC seeks to build a global network to assist national labs with monitoring, surveillance, early detection and control of zoonotic diseases. Research will be shared, developments assisted and guidance provided. On the other hand, PREZODE will pull experts from more than 1,000 organizations, be they public or private, to aid prevention, surveillance, early detection and more rapid response to zoonotic pandemic risks. It’s expected to reach the operational phase next year.

“The ongoing pandemic shows how state-of-the-art nuclear technologies are part of the response to the related challenges,” Xavier Sticker, Ambassador and the Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations and International Organizations in Vienna, said. “IAEA set up its ZODIAC initiative right in time, and the cooperation that is being developed between ZODIAC and PREZODE will be an addition to the coordination of international efforts to tackle the risks deriving from zoonotic infectious diseases.”