The risk of animal diseases
The crisis has also affected the care of livestock, displaced and made homeless by the flooding. Carla Bravo de Rueda, an Animal Health Technical Officer at the Joint Centre highlighted the impact this could have on the spread of animal and zoonotic diseases: “Animal movement and the increase of contact between mixed animal populations represent a risk for the transmission of animal and zoonotic diseases,” she said. “Veterinarian laboratories and authorities need greater capabilities to diagnose and control animal diseases identifying outbreaks before they get out of control.”
The Joint FAO/IAEA Centre are sending molecular and serological diagnostic tools to Pakistan to test for diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), lumpy skin disease (LSD) and Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) – all of which are pre-existing endemic risks in the country. Additionally, the organizations are evaluating a strategy with the Pakistani veterinarian authorities for possible vaccination of some animals to protect them from diseases, thereby preventing future outbreaks.
“We’re in a situation where immune challenged animals could be exposed to life-threatening diseases,” explained Bravo de Rueda. “At the same time, the shelters for these animals are flooded and the lands from which they eat are below water level. This animal crisis could become another human crisis as people depend on their livestock for food and income.”
Through a technical cooperation project with Pakistan in agriculture, which began this year and will run until 2025, the IAEA will continue providing support to the country in enhancing its human and technical capacity in ensuring food security, including food safety and climate resilience in the mid-to-long term.
“The international community should stand in solidarity in face of such a climate-change driven catastrophe,” said Jane Gerardo-Abaya, Director of Asia and the Pacific Division in the IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Department. She explained that the IAEA has a strong partnership with the Pakistan government and is now ramping up its rapid recovery and resilience-building support through its technical cooperation programme and the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre.
