The new crown epidemic has lasted for nearly two years, and it still affects global human health, and even mutated viruses may gradually invade communities in various countries.
In the past many infectious disease pandemics, the source of disease transmission was closely related to animals or the environment.
In order to more effectively protect humans from being affected by serious disease outbreaks, many scholars around the country have advocated "health integration" as the direction to study the relationship between diseases and humans, animals and the environment, so as to reduce the impact of various species on each other. And threats to promote the coexistence and symbiosis of the three and achieve sustainable development in the long run.
Written by: Yuan Bailiang, a senior engineer and the former president of the Institution of Engineers
After the SARS epidemic in 2003, the author studied for a doctorate degree at City University and strengthened his knowledge of ventilation in the isolation project of hospital wards. Fortunately, I was able to play an extra part in this epidemic. Through it, we learn about a very important and forward-looking research concept in the school that is not well understood by too many people: "Health Integration".
The author had the privilege of meeting with Professor Dirk Pfeiffer, Chair Professor Zhou Defeng (Health Integration) and Director of the Center for Health Integration and Policy Application Research at CityU. I am very interested in the study of this unfamiliar infectious disease.
The government is busy today with the top priority of anti-epidemic. It uses high-standard "foreign import" measures for prevention and response, including quarantine and isolation measures, construction of infection control centers, and adjustment of social distancing measures. Anti-epidemic work is certainly important. , And virus-related research is also indispensable.
If it is the first university in Hong Kong to introduce the concept of “health integration”, its team will conduct research on the source of infectious diseases. As early as 2017, before the outbreak of the epidemic, it had begun to analyze antibiotic resistance, zoonotic diseases and society. How culture affects people’s response to disease is included in the study, hoping to help cope with various public health challenges.
The CityU team also provides veterinary clinical services for local pigs, poultry and fish farms and supervises the purchase of drugs for farm animals to enhance farm biosafety.
In addition to animal-related research, the team has also conducted research on the risk of infectious diseases related to the wet goods market, including understanding why citizens love to patronize the wet goods market, whether it is based on traditional cultural perceptions or the taste of fresh meat is better. Failure to keep clean will become a breeding ground for pathogens, threatening human and animal health. Research also believes that the increased demand for meat consumption is not beneficial to the planet as a whole. It is expected that there may be more zoonotic diseases in the future, and the environment will be greatly affected. The risk of destruction will increase as a result.
Seeing that the key driving factor is human behavior.
In the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences of the CityU Jockey Club, the subjects not only cover the already well-known veterinary medicine, or the renamed "Clinical Veterinary Medicine", but also "Biomedicine", "Neurological Medicine", "Infectious Diseases and Public Health" "Etc. 4 university departments.
In response to this epidemic, researchers in the Department of Biomedicine have developed a new data model. It is the first systematic forecasting study based on observations of actual delayed diagnosis (also known as interception delay) data in the epidemic, which can more accurately quantify the "restriction order". "The effectiveness of other epidemic prevention measures.
Analysis shows that even if the gathering restriction order is further tightened, such as multiple tightening restrictions on gatherings, it will not be enough to prevent the epidemic from multiplying. On the contrary, it will improve the efficiency of tracking and detection of high-risk groups, combined with early social distance restrictions. It can effectively reduce the chances of virus transmission. The research results have been accepted by the journal Needle-Regional Health. In fact, the government has long required people with high exposure risk to be tested and vaccinated, especially the high risk of working at the airport. One family also needs to encrypt the number of detections.
Recalling this epidemic and the SARS epidemic more than ten years ago, the source of the transmitted disease is related to the environment and animals. Therefore, this kind of integrated interdisciplinary disease research related to animals and the environment may be useful for large-scale infectious diseases in the future. The advent of it played an early warning or preventive role.
If humans can find a better way to coexist with animals, it may also reduce the recurrence of large-scale infectious diseases that ravage all parts of the world.
"01 Medical Clinic" cooperates with senior engineer Yuan Bailiang, and launches a column "Yuan Tu You" every Monday to share the big and small things of engineering and medical treatment.
Yuanboliang has always been committed to promoting the professional development of the engineering industry, and has just stepped down as the president of the Institute of Engineers.
Decades of professional journey is truly worth remembering, and I am convinced that latecomers may be able to understand the key points of the engineering profession.
We have you in Yuantu, let everyone experience it together.
After SARS, it was the first to create a variable-body multi-sick isolation ward to prevent the epidemic, which can be reverted to general use. The experience of Hong Kong’s anti-SARS ward was used to help Indonesia introduce Hong Kong-style isolation wards facilities. Set up a "stop work allowance"
