World Health Organisation (WHO), yesterday, warned that as
the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), that
causes the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to evolve, the risk of
future emergence of variants is high.
The WHO, in a joint statement with the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on “the
prioritisation of monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infection in wildlife and preventing
the formation of animal reservoirs,” said humans were not infected with
SARS-CoV-2 virus by eating meat, and “wildlife does not play a significant role
in a spread in humans.”
FAO, OIE and WHO, however, called on countries to take steps
to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between humans and wildlife, with
the aim of reducing the risk of variant emergence and protecting both humans
and wildlife.
They noted: “Although COVID-19 is driven by human-to-human
transmission, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is also known to infect animal species.”
Current knowledge indicates that wildlife does not play a
significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in humans, but spread in animal
populations can affect the health of these populations and may facilitate the
emergence of new virus variants.
“In addition to domestic animals, free-ranging, captive or
farmed wild animals such as big cats, minks, ferrets, North American
white-tailed deer and great apes have thus far been observed to be infected
with SARS-CoV-2. To date, farmed mink and pet hamsters have been shown to be
capable of infecting humans with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and a potential case of
transmission between white-tailed deer and a human is currently under review.”
The United Nations agencies said the introduction of
SARS-CoV-2 to wildlife could result in the establishment of animal reservoirs.
Meawhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank
Group, World Trade Organisation (WTO) and WHO have expressed fears that unequal
access to vaccination may prolong the lifespan of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the 8th meeting of the multilateral leaders’ taskforce on
COVID-19 held with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), GAVI (the
Vaccine Alliance), the Global Lead Coordinator for the COVID-19 Vaccine Country
Readiness and Delivery and the CEOs of leading vaccine manufacturers, the
Bretton Wood institutions noted that in the past few months, it had seen
unprecedented levels of disease transmission across the world due to the
Omicron variant.
“Still, unequal access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and
treatments are rampant, prolonging the pandemic. Twenty-three countries are yet
to fully vaccinate 10 per cent of their populations, 73 countries are yet to
achieve 40 per cent coverage and many more are projected to miss the 70 per
cent target by the middle of this year,” they lamented.
The group said the biggest challenges are in Low-Income
Countries (LICs), which are concentrated in Africa, adding: “Only seven per
cent of people in LICs have been fully vaccinated, compared with 73 per cent in
high-income countries. Safeguarding the health of people living in the world’s
poorest countries in the face of a changing pandemic is a key priority. We must
and can ensure that these countries have the access, means and capacity to
vaccinate their populations, especially those who are most at risk.”
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