Republicof Congo

REPUBLIC OF CONGO One Health in action (2009-2020) Discovering unknown viral disease threats surrounding people in their daily lives REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO In the Republic of Congo, the the Sangha Department, and in the behavioral investigations to explore PREDICT project began in 2009 Sibiti district and Zanaga districts the risks of viral spillover and spread with the general aim of reducing within the Lékoumou Department. in the animal value chain. Our team pandemic risk and promoting Fieldwork was conducted at high- performed in-depth, ethnographic global health. Our objectives were risk human-animal interfaces such as interviews and focus groups to generate an evidence base artisanal gold mining, logging, road with more than 100 individuals, that informs strategic investments construction sites, and areas with targeting Brazzaville bushmeat in surveillance, detection, and ecotourism near Odzala-Kokoua market vendors and surrounding response to zoonotic disease National Park. As we worked restaurants. By integrating this socio- threats and to strengthen capacity to strengthen disease detection anthropological approach with the of the health system to prevent capacity in RoC, samples safely evidence from surveillance and virus and detect emerging infectious collected from wildlife were sent to findings our team helped raised diseases. Public health capacity in the PREDICT project partner lab at awareness of the risk of zoonotic the Republic of Congo (RoC) faces the Institut National de Recherche diseases in people’s daily activities. critical challenges, including a low Biomédicale/National Institute for The PREDICT project raised density of health personnel and Biomedical Research (INRB) in awareness of the importance of limited laboratory infrastructure. Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of monitoring wildlife (rodents and Human-wildlife contact interfaces Congo) where they were tested for bats), brought together various are prevalent in many parts of priority zoonotic diseases and other stakeholders involved in wildlife the country, and the country has emerging viral threats. health, and fostered the creation experienced outbreaks of zoonotic Over 10 years, our team detected of a One Health inter-ministerial diseases, including an outbreak of 70 unique viruses (56 new viruses group dedicated to examining monkeypox in 2017. However, and 13 known viruses) in samples emerging disease threats and RoC has recently made significant collected from bats, non-human developing contingency plans in progress in zoonotic disease primates, and rodents. Our case of an emergency outbreak. We prevention and preparedness, discoveries highlight the utility of the collaborated with the Government using a One Health approach to PREDICT project’s viral detection of RoC to build wildlife surveillance promote improvements in public strategy and underscore the need capacity and strengthened health capacity that benefit multiple for proactive surveillance when multisectoral communications, sectors. confronting viral threats at the sharing knowledge and informing The PREDICT project put One human-wildlife interface. surveillance and risk reduction Health in action and conducted strategies relevant for both the Another major focus in RoC from wildlife surveillance in Ouesso within animal and public health sectors. 2014 onwards were social and LOCAL PARTNERS • Laboratoire National de Santé Publique • Laboratoire de Diagnostique Vétérinqire de Brazzaville >60 >60 EELOPE the One Health Wooce tainin oe than 0 eole in Relic o Cono. EELOPE the One Health Wooce tainin oe than 0 eole in Relic o Cono. 1. OPERTIONLIE1. >60One Health veillance an ale ove 19K anial an eole helin iniie the illove o oonotic ieae theat o anial into han olation OPERTIONLIE One Health veillance an ale ove 19K anial an eole helin iniie the illove o oonotic ieae theat o anial into han olation EELOPE the One Health Wooce tainin oe than 560 eole in Relic o1 Cono. PREDICT KNOWN 569 nie ie in oth anial an ETECTE 1 PREDICT KNOWN han olation ETECTE1. 9 nie ie in oth anial an han olation OPERTIONLIE One Health veillance an ale ove 19K anialVIRUS an eole helin FINDINGS iniie the illove o oonotic ieae theat o anial into han olation 56 1 PREDICT KNOWN ETECTE 9 nie ie in oth anial an han olation “The contributions of PREDICT are incredibly valuable in terms CYNTHIA of identifying weaknesses and strengths of the current biosafety GOMA NKOUA and biosecurity procedures, sampling, zoonotic disease surveillance Country Coordinator monitoring, reporting and mapping. This experience has confirmed Laboratoire National my desire to improve the technical and managerial capacities of our de Santé Publique institution.” “I was hired by PREDICT to perform ethnographic interviews, focus HILARION groups and questionnaires in the communities and bushmeat markets MOUKALA NDOLO in Brazzaville. In these studies, we discovered there are those who don’t understand the concept of protected animal species, nor that handling Behavioral Risk Survey animal species presents multiple risks of contamination with zoonotic Investigator diseases agents. I want to find ways to better educate communities and Independent Consultant raise awareness about wildlife conservation.” ACHIEVEMENTS • Published evidence-based animal surveillance • Enhanced disease surveillance capacity and coordination recommendations for a series of human Ebola virus among animal and public health officials to ensure outbreak investigations in Africa. communication across health sectors. • Worked with the National Public Health laboratory • Contributed to development of the Ebola contingency (Laboratoire National de Santé Publique, LNSP) to plan and operationalization of the One Health framework. strengthen disease detection capacity for emerging viral threats and priority zoonoses. • Advocated for the establishment of an EPT Consortium as part of the national “One Health” platform through the establishment of an International Health Regulations Committee. ONE HEALTH SURVEILLANCE From 2014 onwards, the PREDICT project in RoC Sibiti, located between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, has sampled bats and rodents in Sibiti and the Brazzaville a population of >20,000 people and straddles the forest area, two sites with high priority human-animal interfaces and plains of the Valley of the Niari. Sibiti, along with for One Health surveillance. Brazzaville is the capital surrounding towns is a central attraction and one of the city and one of the major urban areas in country. In largest suppliers of bushmeat in the area for the larger Brazzaville residents engage in small-scale agriculture, cities of Dolisie, Nkayi, Pointe-Noire, and Brazzaville. but a large portion of the local diet is derived from meat, Economically, agriculture, forestry, mining, and hunting are from both domesticated animals and hunted or purchased main contributors to livelihoods, though two local companies bushmeat from local wildlife markets (either live for in the extractive industrial sector employ a large number slaughter, fresh, or smoked). These markets were targeted of workers. We conducted surveillance in Sibiti as the for behavioral risk investigations to explore the dynamics close proximity of wildlife to humans, the presence of the of the markets and learn more about the potential social mining and forestry industries, restaurants selling wildlife, and biological dimensions of disease transmission. In and markets that trade fresh and smoked bushmeat present the markets, individuals in many high-risk occupations unique interfaces for viral spillover from wildlife. (hunters, vendors, and consumers) are directly exposed to potential pathogens in domestic animals, live wildlife, and bushmeat. VIRUS DETECTION From 2014 onwards, the PREDICT project’s strategy for VIRUS FINDINGS IN WILDLIFE viral detection focused on screening samples using broadly reactive consensus PCR (cPCR) for five priority viral families: Two coronaviruses (1 known and 1 new coronavirus) were corona-, filo-, flavi-, and paramyxo- families, and influenza detected in bats from samples collected between 2014 and 2016. virus. Prior to 2014, we screened samples for a broader A strain of the known Kenya bat coronavirus BtKY56/BtKY55 range of viral families such as adenoviruses, bunyaviruses, was detected in 9 bats at the Brazzaville site. This virus was and herpesviruses (see Further Reading below). Positive detected in multiple species of bats including Peter’s dwarf samples detected using these assays were sequenced epauletted fruit bats (Micropteropus pusillus), Angolan free- to identify the viruses and compare their relationship to tailed bats (Mops condylurus), and unidentified fruit bats known pathogens, and viruses were prioritized for further belonging to the Myonycteris genus. characterization. This approach allows for detection of both known and novel viruses and improves our understanding Additionally, a new betacoronavirus, PREDICT_CoV- of the presence and diversity of viruses, as well as potential 30, was detected in two bats: a Franquet’s Epauletted pathogens, in humans and animals. Fruit Bat (Epomops franqueti) and a Woermann’s fruit bat (Megaloglossus woermanni) at the Zanaga district site. While In RoC, as we worked to strengthen disease detection Betacoronaviruses include viruses of public health significance, capability at the National Public Health laboratory such as SARS and MERS, currently, there is no evidence to (Laboratoire National de Santé Publique, LNSP), wildlife suggest that this virus

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