Wildlife disease risk assessment for the Republic of Korea

The Republic of Korea has been disproportionately impacted by emerging diseases of wildlife origin and is developing capacity in wildlife health to assist in the prevention and management of wildlife-associated diseases. We... [ view full abstract ]

The Republic of Korea has been disproportionately impacted by emerging diseases of wildlife origin and is developing capacity in wildlife health to assist in the prevention and management of wildlife-associated diseases. We conducted a risk assessment to identify potential hazards from wildlife diseases, determine priority diseases, and provide recommendations for disease surveillance, management, and research. We followed the IUCN/OIE Guidelines for Wildlife Disease Risk Analysis (2014) and methodologies used included retrospective analysis of published literature, an online questionnaire survey, and a subject matter elicitation workshop. Diseases identified as high priority included rabies, severe fever thrombocytopenia syndrome, foot and mouth disease (FMD), highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and Neospora caninum. Foreign diseases that were assessed as high risk for introduction were Chikungunya virus, Dengue virus, Ebola virus, MERS-Coronavirus, African swine fever, FMD, HPAI, and Chlamydophila psittaci. We also identified a general lack of awareness of health threats to wildlife populations. The pathways for exposure to wildlife-associated diseases of most concern included human movement and travel, the illegal wildlife trade, and natural migration of wildlife. The risk factors for disease emergence and spread of most concern included proximity of humans, livestock, and wildlife, high density of livestock populations, habitat loss and environmental degradation, and climate change. Recommendations included initiation of wildlife morbidity and mortality surveillance, focusing active surveillance on migratory birds, coordination among the Ministries of Environment; Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and Health and Welfare (formation of an One Health Committee), management of the legal and illegal wildlife trade, development of risk communication tools, and focusing research on HPAI as well as climate and land use change in relation to disease emergence. In conclusion, the methods used in this study can provide a framework for gathering essential information needed by countries or regions to plan or implement national wildlife health programs.