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SINGAPORE - Factors such as population growth, urbanisation and globalisation - more so than climate change - are the principal drivers of infectious diseases re-emerging worldwide, an infectious diseases expert said on Tuesday.
Although experts agree that climate change affects how infectious diseases such as dengue are transmitted, the extent of its impact is actively debated.
Professor Duane Gubler, director of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School's emerging infectious diseases programme, said: "Climate change is important, no doubt about that.
"We need to do everything we can to stop the changes that are influenced by human activity, but it's not climate change that's the main driver of this global emergence of infectious diseases (EID)."
Other factors include changes in animal husbandry and the boom in air travel, he said on the sidelines of an international conference on EID held here.
Since 1980, a new human pathogen has been identified every seven months. 60 per cent of emerging infections can be transmitted between animals and humans.
A public health event occurs when all its risk factors align, said Dr David Heymann of the Centre on Global Health Security, Chatham House, in the United Kingdom.
For instance, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 was stoked by animal-human infection, the spread by health care workers to the community and cross-border air travel.
To detect and identify viruses as they emerge, Duke-NUS is working with research institutes and health authorities in Vietnam and Sri Lanka to develop early warning surveillance systems.
Indonesia and Myanmar have also invited Prof Gubler to set up such programmes, and he hopes to work with other countries in the region.
The EID research programme has 43 staff on board, including 29 doctoral-level staff. - TODAY
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