This month at STOP Spillover


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In this April issue: STOP Spillover reflects on Earth Day, new resources are published, our staff receive accolades, and more!

STOP Spillover’s Role In Investing in Our Planet

This month we celebrate Earth Day and this year’s theme is “Invest In Our Planet”. STOP Spillover recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. We know that deforestation, climate change, population density, and other factors have put humans in closer and more frequent contact with wildlife, and at greater risk for zoonotic disease. To prevent future zoonotic viral pandemics we must take a One Health approach, and consider all of the factors that drive spillover and invite experts from across borders and sectors to the table. STOP Spillover explores ecological factors, livelihood practices, and food and water storage practices that increase the frequency of human exposure to known or suspected viral vectors, and looks for ways to reduce the frequency of those exposures.

Learn more about STOP Spillover’s work in our recently published Year 2 Annual Report

New Report: Viet Nam Zoonotic Disease Data in Dong Nai Province

STOP Spillover, in collaboration with the provincial and local government, conducted interviews and focus group discussions in Dong Nai Province in order to understand how zoonotic disease data is collected, managed and shared. The interview questions were developed from an adapted version of JSI’s One Health Information Assessment Tool. The study identified several recommendations to support data sharing and integration in Dong Nai. STOP Spillover will support the provincial government to implement a comprehensive coordination approach and increase the availability of wildlife health information. Learn more about the One Health Information Assessment tool and these activities in Viet Nam.

STOP Spillover Works on The Bat-Human Interface in Cambodia

In early March 2023, STOP Spillover convened a 2-day risk assessment workshop where participants identified and prioritized 35 bat-human interface locations for further study and possible interventions. At the same time, STOP Spillover team members traveled to the Kang Meas district to conduct household surveys, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with bat guano farmers and community members living close to the farms. Learn more about the work STOP Spillover is doing in Cambodia:

STOP Spillover’s Dr. Elaine Faustman Receives Accolades

Dr. Elaine Faustman, who leads STOP Spillover’s Risk Analysis work, was awarded the 2023 Arnold J. Lehman Award from the Society of Toxicology. This prestigious award honors members of the society who have made major contributions to assessing the risk and regulation of chemicals including pharmaceuticals, either through regulation or research that has influenced the regulatory process. Learn more about the award!

What Our Experts Are Reading

STOP Spillover’s Year 2 Annual Report

This report details the work conducted under STOP Spillover Project Year 2, which focused primarily on selecting and designing interventions and aligned studies to fill knowledge gaps to support intervention design. During Year 2, STOP Spillover completed Outcome Mapping and Intervention Selection in 6 of the 7 priority countries. The project also established 22 One Health-Design Research and Mentorship (OH-DReaM) groups to design and implement appropriate risk-reduction interventions and aligned studies. Learn more about the project’s ongoing work: https://stopspillover.org/

New Articles on Ebola and Lassa Fever in Sierra Leone

Two recent articles published in Politico SL, with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, feature STOP Spillover’s work in Sierra Leone. One article focuses on the risks associated with wild meat in regards to Ebola. The other describes the growing threat of Lassa Fever.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 6th Assessment Report

This Synthesis Report summarizes the state of knowledge of climate change, its widespread impacts and risks, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, based on the peer-reviewed scientific, technical and socio-economic literature since the publication of the IPCC’s Fifth

Assessment Report in 2014. This document reported with high confidence a relationship between climate change and emerging infectious diseases, emphasizing the importance of STOP Spillover’s work to understand and address the threats posed by zoonotic viral diseases and reduce the risk of viral spillover and spread.

New Article on Forest Clearing and Zoonotic Diseases

In a recent article, ProPublica discusses the dangers forest clearing poses to zoonotic disease spillover. The article focuses on the 2013 Ebola outbreak in Meliandou, Guinea and how conditions have changed since then. STOP Spillover is cited for its work in Uganda.

Partner Spotlight

STOP Spillover is a global consortium led by Tufts University with experts in infectious disease forecasting and epidemiology, virus ecology, wildlife ecology, environmental science, livestock science, animal and wildlife disease surveillance and prevention, food and water safety, risk analysis including gender-associated dimensions of risk, social and behavior change, global health diplomacy, and One Health programming and education. There are 14 organizations involved in STOP Spillover. In this section of the newsletter, each month we’ll introduce you to one of our partners.

Meet Tetra Tech

Headquartered in Pasadena, California with 450 offices around the world, Tetra Tech is a leading provider of global consulting and engineering services for governments and commercial clients. Tetra Tech offers innovative solutions made possible by combining sound science with local understanding and industry-leading approaches. Tetra Tech has won awards for outstanding achievement in renewable energy, forestry conservation, environmental monitoring, waste water surveillance and climate change. Tetra Tech implements several USAID-funded projects using satellite imagery to detect, prevent and reduce deforestation, including the India Forest and Water for Prosperity (ForestPlus) project in India, Greening Prey Lang and Morodok Baitang in Cambodia, and the Forestry and Biodiversity Support Activity (FABS) in Central Africa.

In STOP Spillover, Tetra Tech brings multisectoral approaches to forest and climate risk management, agricultural livelihoods and land use, and institutional and private sector partnerships. Tetra Tech leads STOP Spillover activities in Sierra Leone and Cambodia, and co-leads the Food, Water, and Air technical advisory group.

“Tetra Tech is committed to bringing together people, actors and institutions from the human health, animal health and environmental health sectors to address zoonotic spillover risks in an integrated, multisectoral manner, through new partnerships and strengthened networks.” -Jen Peterson, Senior Associate, Tetra Tech

Learn more about STOP Spillover's partners

Tech Byte

In this section of the newsletter, we share innovations in data and diagnostics, and technologies that can be used to identify and reduce spillover risk, amplification, and spread.

Earth Day and Zoonotic Spillover Risks - What do they have in common?

Novel technologies are often used to monitor and prevent deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and other parts of the world. Burundian conservationist, Leonidas Nzigiyimpa utilizes software called the Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool to collect and analyze data relating to protected forest areas in Burundi. FAO has a new website that provides real-time forestry monitoring - the Framework for Ecosystem Monitoring (FERM). FERM utilizes satellite imagery and data from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and a US company - Planet. FERM is currently being used in Vietnam and Laos to address illegal logging. With all of these publicly available satellites, scientists can get a full snapshot of the Earth’s forest cover every four to five days.

Preventing and detecting deforestation are vital for the health of the planet and people. By preventing deforestation, we can reduce the number of displaced animals in communities adjacent to forested areas, improving public health. Investing in forest conservation and management technologies has a positive impact not only on the environment but also on the health and well-being of human populations. For more information on the use of satellite imagery to reduce deforestation, check out these websites and stories:

The space tech helping to tackle deforestation

Servir Network

Global Forest Monitoring Project

STOP Spillover

419 Boston Avenue
Medford, MA 02155
United States

STOPSpillover@tufts.edu

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