The EU project WiLiMan-ID investigates the complex interactions between hosts and pathogens in five high-priority animal diseases: avian influenza, African swine fever, West Nile fever, African horse sickness and chronic wasting disease. These diseases circulate at the interface between domestic and wild animals and, in some cases, in areas where humans and animals come into contact. Two of the pathogens cause significant economic damage to the livestock sector, whilst three also pose a risk to public health.

Objective

Identify key factors governing the emergence, spread and evolution of these pathogens under changing environmental conditions. By integrating data at various levels – from the pathogen through the host and host community to the landscape level – WiLiMan-ID develops innovative approaches for prevention, surveillance and management.

The Institute of epidemiology contributes mainly in Work Package (WP) 4 and 5 of the project.

WP4: Interactions among pathogens, hosts, vectors and the environment: role of diseases emergence, spread and persistence. 

Identify key transmission routes of the multi-species IDs studied, including the impact of farming practices, and examine interactions between host- and population-level infection dynamics.

WP5: Optimising mitigation strategies for animal infectious diseases within the context of global change.

To support animal health policy-making by developing complementary analytical frameworks combining quantitative socio-economic and epidemiological approaches that account for livestock, wildlife, vectors and the environment (when appropriate) in various epidemiological contexts (absence of disease, emergence and endemicity).

Project homepage: https://www.wiliman-id.eu/

Partners: 

The project brings together 14 academic and private partners (11 countries, including 10 in Europe). 

Involved scientists:

Dr. Jana Schulz
Prof. Dr. Carola Sauter-Louis
Alfredo Acosta (PostDoc)