Viral diseases continue to be a public health threat to humans. Humanity has been affected over the years by several pandemics associated with viruses, the most recent being COVID-19, caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While these pandemics affect humanity globally, low- and middle-income countries are usually the most affected, especially those in Africa.
The African continent, especially the sub-Saharan part, represents a unique and complex environmental, economic, health system, and socio-political landscape which has favored the emergence, re-emergence, survival, and spread of viral infections. Most of these countries are characterized by poor sanitation conditions, at times with a complete lack of sanitary facilities and access to potable water for personal and household hygiene. Furthermore, most health systems in these countries are weak, usually due to a lack of finances and political will to invest in them. Moreover, social and cultural practices that allow constant interaction between humans, animals, and their environment increase the chances of infection.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic challenged health systems worldwide, even in developed countries, prompting the need to develop early warning systems to monitor present pandemics and prevent the emergence of new ones or the re-emergence of once-forgotten ones. Therefore, understanding the dynamics of viral disease emergence in the African continent is paramount to protecting the population from future epidemics and pandemics.
This book features a collection of research on various emerging and re-emerging viral agents emanating from Africa, which may involve new variants of known viruses or completely new agents; their peculiarities including their biology, pathogenesis, and mechanisms of adaptation in the environment; the role of climate change in disease emergence; drivers of zoonoses and transmission of these viral diseases between human and animal hosts; existing infrastructure including detection and diagnostic tools, health systems, and mitigators of viral diseases; challenges of implementing early warning systems and surveillance for viral disease outbreaks in Africa; the impact of viral infections on the continent's economy and the psychosocial impacts on its populations; and integrating the One Health approach to preventing disease outbreaks, spill-over, and pandemics with emphasis on sustainable participatory strategies to achieving overall human, animal, and environmental health. This book explores the human-animal-environment interface of viral diseases -- especially those with the potential to cause pandemics -- and their epidemiology & connection with the rapidly developing African continent. This book will spur discourse on improving research on the continent to inform science, One Health, and multi-dimensional approaches including sectoral and climate actions to combat viral diseases wherever and whenever they emerge.
