The warning was given by international experts who attended a seminar on the situation of emerging diseases and wild animals in Vietnam , in Hanoi on March 15.
The seminar was jointly held by the Wildlife Conservation Society in Vietnam , the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Recent reports showed that 75 percent of infectious diseases in humans originated from animals, the experts said, adding that Southeast Asia is a hot spot of emerging disease outbreak.
Director of USAID Vietnam Francis Donovan said people throughout the world have a better understanding of the connection between human health, animal health and the environment, adding that Vietnam is one of the pioneers in applying the “One-Health” approach to develop policies in preparation for pandemics.
Since the transmission of such pandemics as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or bird flu caused serious impacts on public health and economic development, it is necessary to raise capacity to discover and cope with dangerous diseases, the USAID Director said./.
