Pests, Pandemics, Preparedness and Biosecurity

Abstract

AbstractPandemics continue to affect the edifice of India’s biosecurity threatening food, nutrition, health, livelihood, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Rapid, largescale movement of people and material in a globalised world, climate change and inadequate surveillance will exacerbate pandemics in the years to come. Despite vaccines, synthetic drugs, agrochemicals playing a key role in mitigation, cascading problems of resistance, resurgence, food safety, biodiversity, and ecosystem services is a stark reality. For India to be a part of preparedness, transformational changes in transboundary pest surveillance, strict quarantine, rapid molecular diagnosis, anticipatory research, and training are essential. Transparency, political commitment, investment in research and development, analysis and interpretation of bigdata, meta-analysis, multi-lateral institutional/international cooperation is the way forward for preparedness and biosecurity. Pandemics need a united regional and global approach rather than mere national focus.