{"id":45416,"date":"2025-03-19T05:04:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T23:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=45416"},"modified":"2025-05-06T20:00:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T14:30:50","slug":"national-wildlife-health-policy-strengthens-zoonotic-disease-surveillance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-wildlife-health-policy-strengthens-zoonotic-disease-surveillance\/","title":{"rendered":"National Wildlife Health Policy Strengthens Zoonotic Disease Surveillance"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>National Wildlife Health Policy Latest News<\/li>\n<li>National Referral Centre for Wildlife (NRC-W)<\/li>\n<li>National Wildlife Health Policy (NWHP) Under Review<\/li>\n<li>National Wildlife Health Policy FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>National Wildlife Health Policy Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Five years after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre is reviewing a draft National Wildlife Health Policy (NWHP) to strengthen wildlife disease surveillance and research.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The policy proposes integrated monitoring systems, new diagnostic laboratories, and enhanced research efforts to track and prevent zoonotic diseases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>National Referral Centre for Wildlife (NRC-W)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Zoonotic diseases account for 60% of emerging infectious diseases worldwide, with 72% originating from wildlife.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>India has experienced several localized but severe outbreaks, such as Kyasanur Forest Disease and Nipah virus.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>These incidents highlight the urgent need for efficient disease monitoring in wild animal populations and continuous health surveillance of captive wild animals in zoological institutions across the country.<\/li>\n<li>Against this backdrop, Centre has established the NRC-W.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>NRC-W: An Ambitious Wildlife Health Initiative<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The NRC-W has been established in Junagadh, Gujarat.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) under the Union Environment Ministry has prepared blueprints for its development, focusing on emerging infectious diseases, wildlife disease surveillance, and outbreak management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Need for NRC-W: Addressing Zoonotic Threats<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The establishment of NRC-W is crucial due to the rising emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic diseases.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Out of 1,407 human pathogens, 816 are zoonotic, posing a significant health risk.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>NRC-W will strengthen disease detection, research, and safe handling of animals, preventing spillovers from wildlife to humans.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Advanced Research and Surveillance Facilities<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>NRC-W will be equipped with state-of-the-art investigation and surveillance technology to detect diseases in both animals and humans.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It will also support skill-based training, data analytics, and policy development to enhance wildlife health management.<\/li>\n<li>NRC-W will bridge the gap between wildlife health, human health, and livestock programs, ensuring a holistic approach to One Health.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Collaborative Approach for Wildlife Health<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>NRC-W will function in collaboration with national and international institutes to enhance disease surveillance, research, and wildlife conservation.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The CZA will act as the nodal agency, ensuring coordination between zoos and wildlife health programs across India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>National Wildlife Health Policy (NWHP) Under Review<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Five years after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre is reviewing an interim draft of the National Wildlife Health Policy (NWHP) to enhance wildlife disease monitoring and research.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The policy proposes integrated surveillance systems, new diagnostic labs, and cross-sectoral collaborations to address zoonotic disease risks.<\/li>\n<li>It aims to mitigate risks of wildlife-origin pathogens, like SARS-CoV-2, by improving early detection and response mechanisms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Alignment with One Health Approach<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Over 60% of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate from animals.<\/li>\n<li>In this context, the NWHP aligns with the National One Health Mission, which integrates efforts across human, animal, and environmental health sectors.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Monitoring wildlife, both in the wild and in captivity, has become crucial for pandemic preparedness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Key Stakeholders and Policy Formulation<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) is leading the policy drafting, with consultations driven by the Principal Scientific Adviser\u2019s office and support from IIT Bombay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>National Referral Centre for Wildlife (NRC-W) as a Key Hub<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The National Referral Centre for Wildlife (NRC-W), inaugurated by PM Modi in Junagadh, Gujarat, will be a central authority for investigating wildlife mortalities, disease outbreaks, diagnostics, and treatments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Bridging Information Gaps and Cross-Sectoral Coordination<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Currently, wildlife disease surveillance is fragmented across different ministries and independent research efforts.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The policy aims to integrate data from the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, and Department of Animal Husbandry to ensure better coordination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Establishment of Wildlife Health Databases<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The policy proposes a National Wildlife Health Database and a Wildlife Health Information System to centralize real-time and historical data.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>These will complement existing systems like the National Animal Disease Referral Expert System to predict and prevent outbreaks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Satellite Diagnostic Labs and Community Engagement<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The policy recommends setting up satellite diagnostic labs near key forest habitats to improve wildlife disease detection and response.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It also emphasizes community engagement, such as vaccination programs for cattle near national parks, to prevent disease spillover from domestic to wild animals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>National Wildlife Health Policy FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> What is India\u2019s National Wildlife Health Policy?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> It is a framework to strengthen wildlife disease surveillance, zoonotic risk management, and research for better public health security.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2. <\/strong>Why is NRC-W important for wildlife health?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>NRC-W will serve as India\u2019s central hub for investigating wildlife mortalities, disease outbreaks, and zoonotic research.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>How does NRC-W enhance zoonotic disease prevention?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>It integrates surveillance, diagnostics, and research to detect and prevent wildlife-to-human disease transmission effectively.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4. <\/strong>What role does the One Health approach play in this policy?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>It aligns human, animal, and environmental health efforts to track, manage, and prevent future pandemics like COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5. <\/strong>How will NRC-W collaborate with other organizations?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>NRC-W will work with national and international institutes to enhance disease research and wildlife health conservation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/covid-outbreak-national-wildlife-health-policy-takes-shape-9892080\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2085404\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PIB<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailypioneer.com\/2023\/india\/nrcw-project-in-gujarat-inching-closer-to-reality.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">DP<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India\u2019s National Wildlife Health Policy aims to enhance zoonotic disease surveillance, with NRC-W playing a key role in prevention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}