Associate Professor Navneet Dhand from the Sydney School of Veterinary Science has received a $5 million grant to advance the second phase of the Asia Pacific Consortium of Veterinary Epidemiology (APCOVE) project. This University of Sydney-led initiative aims to enhance veterinary epidemiology and One Health capabilities across the Asia Pacific region. The grant, announced by the Honourable Penny Wong, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, is funded by the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security within the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
The Asia Pacific region is at risk of emerging infectious diseases due to rapid urbanization, changes in land use, and encroachment of wild habitats. “Most emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning they spread from animals to humans”, explained Associate Professor Dhand, director of APCOVE and a member of the research leadership team of the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute. “Therefore, to protect human populations, it is crucial to monitor these pathogens and diseases upstream in domestic animals and wildlife before they transfer to the human population”.
Associate Professor Dhand will head a team of veterinary epidemiologists from all eight veterinary schools in Australia and New Zealand, collaborating with partners from eight targeted countries in the Asia Pacific region. This funding will strengthen the animal health workforce's capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to animal disease outbreaks, building on the groundwork and partnerships formed during the first phase of APCOVE.
The project emphasizes the critical need to address the risk of zoonotic diseases, as evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and avian influenza (H5N1). APCOVE 2 will further mitigate the risk of disease incursion in Australia, protecting the country's livestock industries. Field epidemiology training will be conducted in Laos, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. This training will be supported by eLearning resources for field veterinarians, One Health training, simulation exercises, and training for epidemiology educators.
Professor Jacqui Norris, Head of School and Dean, said, “This project aims to further strengthen the capacity of Veterinary Services in the region to tackle emerging infectious diseases. I am glad that a key focus of the project is on enhancing One Health capacity, recognising that the health of humans, animals, and the environment is interconnected. The Sydney School of Veterinary Science is proud to lead this collaborative initiative involving all veterinary schools in Australia and New Zealand. We have a long history of supporting the development of veterinary epidemiology capacity in the Asia-Pacific region”.
By enhancing these capabilities, Associate Professor Dhand and his team aim to build a more resilient animal health workforce in the Asia Pacific, ultimately contributing to the prevention of future zoonotic disease outbreaks.
