Chandigarh 23rd April:-- The 1st international "ZooPa" workshop on
'Zoonotic waterborne/ foodborne parasites' started at PGIMER,
Chandigarh on Wednesday and will run for three days. This workshop
kicks-off a three-year educational exchange project between India and
Norway, in which the Department of Medical Parasitology, PGIMER,
Chandigarh is the Indian partner and the Department of Food Safety and
Infection Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) is the
Norwegian partner.
In his welcome address, Prof. Rakesh Sehgal, Head of the Department of
Medical Parasitology, PGIMER, highlighted the medical importance of
zoonotic waterborne/ foodborne parasites. In her introductory
comments, Prof. Lucy Robertson from Norway discussed the concept of
'One Health and One Planet' – in which human infections, animal
infections, and environmental factors are considered together. The
importance of zoonotic infections, that is, the infections which are
transmitted from animals to humans, were also addressed. Over 60 % of
human pathogens are considered to originate from animals. India
possess a favourable environment for the transmission of both known
and novel diseases between animals and humans as it harbours the
second largest human populations and one of the world's greatest
densities of tropical livestock. There is a fragmented nature of
zoonoses research and control in India. Thus, zoonotic waterborne/
foodborne parasites can infect large number of common people in India.
Throughout India, problems of foodborne parasitic zoonoses differ
because of varied food habits. Other factors such as unhygienic living
conditions, lack of education, poor personal hygiene and poverty also
contribute to the dissemination of parasitic infections. This
workshop aims to promote integrated zoonotic disease prevention and
control among the medical and veterinarian students. Globally,
contaminated water is a serious problem that can cause severe illness,
disability and even death. Common water-related diseases caused by
parasites include amebiasis, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis. People
become infected with these diseases when they swallow or have contact
with water that has been contaminated by certain parasites. Proper
sanitation and hygiene are essential to preventing waterborne
illness.Many food outbreaks can be linked to zoonotic parasites. Many
different types of food can be contaminated by parasites such as raw
vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products. Many factors in the modern
world may promote transmission of foodborne pathogens, including
changes in dietary habits (such as eating raw produce and salads),
increased international travel, and greater import of different food
products. The ZooPa project is funded through the UTFORSK programme of
the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU).
As well as this first workshop, the project will include further
workshops in Chandigarh and Norway, "hands-on" practical courses, and
scientific exchanges. In the subsequent workshops hands-on training
will be provided for the detection of parasites in water and food
samples. This will help in establishing an epidemiological link
between animal source and human infection, so that preventive and
control measures can be taken.
The aim of the project is to promote improved health by raising
knowledge and awareness about foodborne and waterborne parasitic
infections and addressing these problems through the "One Health"
approach.
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