zoonotic influenza preparedness: a transdisciplinary one health approach

Zoonoses - diseases that transmit between animals and humans - account for 75% of emerging infections1. Their emergence and spread is a result of multiple interactions between biological, physical and social drivers2. This includes the way zoonotic risks are understood and prioritised by different individuals such as producers, regulators, consumers, traders and scientists3. Therefore, studying the causes, responses and impacts of epidemics requires a transdisciplinary perspective and mounting a response requires a collaborative approach spanning multiple sectors. The One Health approach highlights the interdependence of animal, environment and human health and offers a framework for partnership between multiple disciplines and sectors to address zoonotic diseases. However, despite recent efforts to broaden the scope of One Health4, the approach has been criticised for not being sufficiently accommodative of non-human health perspectives - such as the economic and social constraints within which livestock production occurs3,5. Post-Covid-19, there is an increased demand for an inclusive transdisciplinary approach for research and practice of One Health, but limited methodologies exist to do so6-8. Through this proposal, we seek to build upon an earlier body of work and research collaborations that applied interdisciplinary collaborative modelling (Scoones et al 2017)9 and systems thinking approaches (see Catley et al 21012, Wood et al 2012)10,11 to zoonoses. Within the Phase One award, we will develop a methodological approach to conduct transdisciplinary 'collaborative modelling' to examine the connection between economic and health risks from avian influenza in poultry in Bangladesh, United Kingdom (UK) and Vietnam. In doing so, we will explicitly account for different understandings of risks of zoonoses with epidemic potential, such as risks to people's and animal's health, people's livelihoods and economic wellbeing, and the environment. The work during Phase One will identify case studies, scope datasets and priorities of local stakeholders. This will help us develop our research questions for Phase Two that are scientifically novel, significant, as well as socially relevant. We aim to bridge the gap between inter- and transdisciplinarity by engaging with actors whose lives and livelihoods are impacted by avian influenza in the three sites at all stages of our research, including conceptualisation, design and analysis. The ensuing research in Phase Two of the award will include disciplinary research led by experts in their respective fields; interdisciplinary research involving regular collaboration between disciplines; and finally, consultative transdisciplinary research that will be co-designed and co-produced with non-research stakeholders. While these three countries prioritise different forms of production systems, all three regularly report avian influenza outbreaks. Moreover, as we describe later in the proposal, poultry production and risks for avian influenza are intimately linked to the economic networks and individual perceptions of risks among producers, traders, regulators and consumers in all three countries12-15. Our team includes researchers who have a deep understanding of the poultry sector and avian influenza risks within Bangladesh, UK and Vietnam along with researchers from a range of social science and natural science disciplines. Based upon the research priorities that emerge from Phase One, we will seek to expand our team of research co-Leads as needed. The outputs from Phase One will include a methodological framework for collaborative modelling to assist with operationalising One Health approaches as well as a research protocol utilising the framework.