Reduce environmental pollution and the risk of emerging dangerous diseases through waste treatment of wild animals

In recent years, wildlife farming has developed spontaneously and aggressively in many provinces and cities across the country due to the economic benefits brought to farming households. However, about 70% of newly emerging diseases are diseases that are transmitted between animals and humans, and wildlife farming activities, if not well managed, will be a risk of environmental pollution and disease spread. To learn more, Dr. Pham Duc Phuc, Deputy Director of the Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER), University of Public Health; Coordinator of the Vietnam One Health Network of Universities (VOHUN) had a discussion around this issue.

Dear Dr. Pham Duc Phuc, in the face of worrying information about health risks related to wastes when keeping wild animals in residential areas, Dr. can give readers of the Health & Life Newspaper a better understanding. about this risk?

Dr. Pham Duc Phuc: Most of the captive breeding and rearing of wildlife in many provinces and cities across the country are at the household level and the design of cages and waste management do not have specific technical guidelines. According to the survey results of the Project "Strategy to prevent the spread of disease agents", abbreviated as STOP Spillover, conducted by our CENPHER Center in 2020, over 90% of households keeping and raising wild animals do not. waste treatment. Waste is discharged directly into the environment around residential areas, orchards, forest gardens, fish ponds and rivers. Especially when an animal dies, the breeder also throws it directly into the pond to feed the fish in the rainy season, or throws it into the river, stream or garden. This behavior leads to a lot of risk of infection with dangerous pathogens that threaten animal health, human health, as well as pollute the environment water, soil and air and can cause outbreaks. infectious disease outbreaks.

Dr. Pham Duc Phuc, Deputy Director of the Center for Public Health and Ecosystems (CENPHER), University of Public Health; One Health Network Coordinator
Vietnam (VOHUN)

So can you tell us more about the risks of diseases originating from animals and livestock waste?

Dr. Pham Duc Phuc: In recent years, the world is facing the risk of the emergence and spread of emerging infectious diseases (CBT) or re-emergence in humans, domestic animals and wildlife. These diseases arise from human-animal-ecosystem interactions and have the potential to have dire consequences for human health, livelihoods, economic development and more. The World Health Organization has scientific evidence that about 70% of emerging dangerous infectious diseases in humans originate from animals and two-thirds of them are from wild animals. Vietnam and some neighboring countries (e.g. China) have been identified as one of the global "hot spots" with a very high risk of emerging infectious pathogens (e.g. the SARS epidemic in 2004). 2003, avian influenza A/H5N1 in 2003, influenza A/H1N1 in 2009, COVID-19). Wild animals excrete solid waste (faeces, litter, food scraps), liquid waste (urine, cleaning water, water from playgrounds, sports fields, and pastures). This waste contains a lot of nitrogen, phosphorus, zinc, copper, lead, arsenic, nickel and carries microorganisms, including some microorganisms that can be harmful to human health and domestic animals. and ecological environment such as E. coli, Salmonella, Streptococcus fecalis, Enterobacteriae, as well as emerging infectious disease viruses.

Can you share some solutions to treat livestock waste to reduce environmental pollution and disease risk and the role of environmental engineering technology?

Dr. Pham Duc Phuc: Animal waste treatment technique is the application of physical, chemical and biological methods to treat manure, wastewater and other wastes in the livestock production process, minimizing environmental pollution. In fact, depending on the conditions of the livestock, the investment ability, the farmer can choose the appropriate method to treat the waste in the most effective and economical way. Livestock production must be planned appropriately according to the ecological region in terms of quantity and type so as not to be overloaded and cause environmental pollution. For livestock production at household level, the design of stables must be well implemented. Separate the wildlife farming area from other livestock and poultry. Having a sanitary fecal and wastewater treatment system and applying fecal and wastewater treatment techniques suitable to the conditions of each household. Applying bio-safe farming methods to ensure human health, livestock and the environment.

In practice, depending on the conditions of each place, each farming scale can use different techniques to treat wildlife waste such as biogas tunnels (biogas), fermentation techniques (biological products, etc.). ), using biological padding. For example, it is possible to apply animal husbandry on biological pads to help reduce environmental pollution and is very suitable for the household farming model. Breeding on biological cushions is the use of wastes from processing agricultural and forest products (blasts, sawdust, corn stalks, beans, straw, rice husks, coffee husks, etc.) lining with probiotics added. Using probiotics on the mattress is using "effective microorganisms" that have been researched and selected belonging to the genera Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Streptomyces, Saccharomyces, Aspergillus... with the desire to create a good amount of microorganisms. useful enough in bedding and creating inhibitory microorganisms to inhibit and destroy harmful microorganisms, for microorganisms to decompose organic matter from manure and wastewater of livestock and poultry . The environmental engineering industry is very important, contributing to the research and introduction of technical technologies to treat livestock waste, reduce environmental pollution and the risk of spreading pathogens.

Thus, it can be seen that the development of livestock production, especially the raising of wild animals, helps to improve the household economy, but it may also create risks for the ecological environment and be one of the causes of wrongdoing. the land heats up if the livestock environment problem is not managed effectively. If the livestock waste, especially manure and wastewater, is not treated effectively, it will be one of the major sources of pollution to the environment, adversely affecting the life and health of the population in the immediate future as well as in the future. Castle. The problem is to develop livestock, but it must be sustainable, protect the ecological environment and prevent diseases.

Sincerelt thanks to Dr. Pham Duc Phuc!

Source: Health and Life Newspaper