America News Agency

According to CCTV, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) called for increased surveillance against animal-borne viruses after outbreaks of hantavirus and Ebola caused global concern.

Speaking at the 93rd General Session of the WOAH World Assembly of Delegates, which began in Paris, WOAH Director General Emmanuelle Soubeyran and experts emphasized that the early detection and monitoring of animal-transmitted viruses are critically important in reducing public health risks.

Referring to a WOAH report, Soubeyran stated that approximately 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases worldwide are animal-borne and said, “What is important is to truly understand how transmission occurs from wildlife to humans or farm animals. Investigating how this transition happens is extremely important.”

In its statement, WOAH noted that hantavirus is an animal-origin virus mainly found in rodents and stated that rodent control based on an integrated ecological approach is an important method for reducing the risk of transmission to humans.

WOAH official Tahreem Khalid stated that hantavirus is of zoonotic origin and that some strains have the potential for human-to-human transmission, stressing that early warning systems and continuous monitoring are of vital importance.