SEATTLE, June 20,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Even as the role of
wildlife in disease outbreaks is increasingly recognized, our
ability to detect and respond to emerging wildlife threats remains
primitive at best. One major obstacle? The chronic underfunding of
the wildlife data surveillance sector compared to its human and
agricultural counterparts.
PAX sapiens, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's
(PNNL) AI-Driven One Health Security Program and Western University of Health Sciences College of
Veterinary Medicine convened, for the first time, a group of
public, private, academic, and philanthropic stakeholders to
negotiate harmonizing wildlife data and to offer sophisticated
analytic tools for wildlife experts. This marks a concrete step
towards predictive and proactive biosurveillance, safeguarding both
wildlife and human health. Achieving this would be good for
wildlife, good for public health, and good for national
security.
In a world where the next pandemic could be lurking just around
the corner, the importance of early detection and proactive
surveillance cannot be overstated. However, "it has been a quarter
of a century since the lessons of West Nile Virus, and we still
have not fully integrated biosurveillance across species.
The United States continues to
grapple with vulnerabilities in its ability to share crucial
wildlife data," emphasized Dr. Tracey
McNamara, Western University of Health
Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary
Pathologist.
The advances made in data sharing, protection, privacy, and
predictive capabilities offered by PNNL's One Health – OH-TREADS
platform mark a step toward improving wildlife programs, providing
decision-makers with an additional view to predict and respond to
emerging threats. "We're not just talking about protecting
wildlife; we're talking about protecting human health and
security," reflected Dr. Louise
Gresham, Senior Fellow Global Health Security, PAX
sapiens. "This is about preventing predictable, preventable
catastrophes and building a more peaceful world."
PNNL will create custom tools for data sharing that will allow
others to do a better job for wildlife. These tools will leverage
the world class technology available at one of our national labs
not made available previously to researchers in the wildlife
sector.
OH-TREADS is a comprehensive solution to the challenges of data
sharing among public and private wildlife partners. Through
state-of-the-art data science and engineering, PNNL scientists use
big data analytics, mathematical modeling, and artificial
intelligence to develop global proactive strategies for disease
outbreak prevention in a shared ecosystem of animals, humans, and
environment.
"The sharing of ecosystems, climatic conditions and human
activities has resulted in severe and novel epidemics," said Dr.
Mark Rweyemamu of SACIDS in
Tanzania, Africa.
Moving forward, increased partnerships with OH-TREADS will be
crucial in quality wildlife data exchange and generating timely
detection and situational awareness across the United States.
As the world faces the threat of emerging diseases, initiatives
like OH-TREADS offers a glimmer of hope. Through collaboration,
innovation, and a shared commitment to biosurveillance, we can
build a safer, more resilient future for all.
About PNNL OH-TREADS:
PNNL OH-TREADS gives a solution to the challenges of data
sharing among public-private partners by providing protection,
privacy, capabilities, and predictive tools for decision making.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Driven One Health Security
activities are focused on disrupting health threats and their
impacts through state-of-the-art data science and engineering,
science-based decision-making, and communication tools.
About PAX sapiens:
PAX sapiens is a nonprofit foundation that
works to address complex global problems through coordinating [P^3]
networks of private-sector, philanthropic, and public institutions.
PAX sapiens works to promote better global systems for
pandemic prevention.
Media Member Contact
Abby Sun
asun@paxsapiens.org
Rodney Tanaka
rtanaka@westernu.edu
Interview Opportunities
Dr. Tracey McNamara DVM, Diplomate, A.C.V.P Western University of Health Sciences College of
Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Pathologist and Professor of
Pathology
Dr. Louise Gresham PhD MPH PAX sapiens, Senior Fellow Global
Health Security
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SOURCE PAX sapiens