june 2009 • volume 6 number 2 2018 • volume 15 number …€¦ · conservation medicine •...
TRANSCRIPT
JUN E 2009 • VO LUM E 6 N UM BER 2
ISSN 1612-9202 (Print)ISSN 1612-9210(Electronic)
Conservation Medicine • Human Health • Ecosystem Sustainability
ECOH EALTH2018 • VO LUME 15 NUMBER 2
ISSN 1612-9202 (Prin t )ISSN 1612-9210 (Elect ron ic)10393 • 15(2 ) 000-000 (2018)
One Health • Ecology & Health • Public Health
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ECOH EALTH Economics of Infectious Disease, Trade and Pandemic Risk
In This Issue
SPECIAL FEATURE ON ECONOMICS OF
INFECTIOUS DISEASE, TRADE, AND PANDEMIC
RISK
Berry et al. begin this Special Feature in EcoHealth on the
Economics of Infectious Disease, Trade, and Pandemic Risk
by discussing the benefits of a creating global pandemic
fund to fight large-scale emergence events. Pandemics
emerge stochastically, are predominantly zoonotic in nat-
ure and originate in tropical countries. These events are
increasing in frequency, and deliberations on the size and
nature of the WHO pandemic fund continue, yet appro-
priations as seen for Ebola in the USA are likely necessary
to manage these risks. The spillovers are key as seen by
these funds being used to combat to the outbreak of Zika
virus. The need for these kinds of funds which can be
flexibly targeted to combat future emerging disease threats
is clear and ought to be based on sound economic analysis.
Chitchumnong and Horan explain an individual’s
infectious disease risks may depend on others’ mitigation
choices, creating strategic interactions such that each
individual makes mitigation decisions based on the ex-
pected decisions of others. Prior work finds coordination
failures involving minimal mitigation investments could
arise in this setting. These results are largely based on
simplified economic models involving a single management
choice and fixed prices that influence mitigation incentives.
Relaxing these assumptions, they find strategic interactions
influence, and are influenced by, choices involving multiple
management options and also market price responses.
These features can reduce the potential for coordination
failure and also have important policy implications.
Morin et al. discuss the precautions private individuals
take to mitigate infectious disease risks. Such precautions
generally reduce both peak prevalence of symptomatic
infection and the number of people who fall ill (both so-
cially beneficial) while simultaneously prolonging an epi-
demic (socially detrimental). For diseases that are not very
infectious, or for which the duration of illness is short, it
may be socially optimal to promote private mitigation ef-
fort by increasing the cost of illness—hence dragging out a
low impact epidemic. By contrast, for highly infectious or
long-lasting diseases, it may be optimal to discourage pri-
vate mitigation by reducing the cost of disease—burning
out the epidemic as quickly and intensely as possible. For
moderately infectious diseases with medium infectious
periods, the social optimum depends on complex interac-
tions between prevalence and duration.
Berry et al. present a statistical matching methodology
for merging and analyzing detailed activity survey data and
health outcome data. Data are extrapolated from one
established national survey onto a new dataset by
sociodemographic characteristics, and the correlations be-
tween activity choice and influenza vaccination are ex-
plored. Significant correlations were found and the sign of
the correlation flips when considering either the intensive
(how much) or the extensive (do or not do) decision for
some highly studied activities. These correlations can pro-
vide an additional metric for targeting those least likely to
vaccinate. The methodology outlined in this paper can be
replicated to explore correlation among actions and other
health outcomes.
Trade creates pathways for spread of bioinvaders.
Current trade policy banning imports from risky sources is
inefficient and costly to enforce. If agents bear the cost of
their actions and allowed to evaluate the expected costs and
benefits of their actions, efficient outcomes can often be
achieved. In this special feature, Lee et al. model import
choice behavior under risk of introducing foot-and-mouth
disease introduction. Using a 50-year dataset to parame-
EcoHealth 15, 237–240, 2018https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1354-1
In This Issue
� 2018 EcoHealth Alliance
terize the model, they find whether producers diversify
import sources to mitigate risk and simultaneously create
gains from trade. The results of this work can be used in
designing novel trade policies that incorporate scientifically
sound methods and producer behavior into the design.
Managing livestock diseases depends on the actions of
different actors, both within and across different regulatory
frameworks. Bate et al. use bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) in
England and Scotland as a case study, as there are con-
trasting strategies for BVD management. Using an agent-
based bioeconomic model, they assess the payoff depen-
dence of farmers connected by trade but using different
BVD management strategies: test–cull, test –cull with vac-
cination, and vaccination alone. When two farms trade, all
actions by the selling farm provide benefits to the pur-
chasing farm, with the greatest benefit from test culling
with vaccination. Unilateral disease management strategies
can be effective in reducing disease risks created through
trade.
Shanafelt and Perrings evaluate the effects of post-
2001 reforms on global foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) risk
in the livestock trade and estimate an empirical model of
disease risk that tests for the impact of changes in trade
volume and biosecurity measures on the probability of a
disease outbreak. They find that before 2001, biosecurity
measures were the most significant determinant of risk.
After 2001, trade plays the greater role. Their results
highlight the trade-off between trade restrictions and
biosecurity measures in global foot-and-mouth disease
management. The more that trade restrictions are relaxed,
the more important biosecurity becomes.
Near real-time epidemic forecasting approaches are
needed to respond to emerging epidemics. Chowell et al.
wrap up this special feature by retrospectively assessing the
performance of models that capture early subexponential
growth dynamics to generate short-term forecasts of the
2001 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) epidemic in the UK.
They find that while the generalized growth model provides
a useful 10-day forecast of the epidemic before the peak, a
different model—the generalized Richards model—is nee-
ded to forecast the epidemic after the peak.
LASSA VIRUS HOST IN GUINEA
The Natal multimammate mouse is the natural host of
Lassa virus, an arenavirus that causes Lassa fever in hu-
mans. In the absence of a vaccine, rodent control and
adjusting human behavior are currently considered to be
the only options for Lassa fever control. In this study,
Marien et al. investigated the spatial behavior of multi-
mammate mice by performing several field experiments in
Lassa fever-endemic villages. Their conclusions discuss
implications for rodent control.
WEST NILE VIRUS IS FOR THE BIRDS
Using the house sparrow-West Nile virus host–parasite
system, Burgan et al. sought to develop techniques to more
efficiently identify highly competent individuals in free-
living communities. They found that a simple-to-measure
form of parasite tolerance may be an efficient substitute for
more complex forms of tolerance in individual hosts and
identified potential biomarkers of individual competence to
West Nile virus.
MAPPING MERS-COV HOT SPOTS
Camels infected with MERS-CoV can spread the disease to
humans, but understanding the production and marketing
systems for camels can help mitigate the risk. Giyonko
et al. used a value chain approach to study camel systems
and movements in Kenya and defined high-risk practices
and locations that can increase disease risks to humans.
Intervention and disease surveillance should focus on these
areas to reduce human infection risks and spread of disease.
VACCINATING WILD BOARS
Tuberculosis (TB) infections in wild boar may be exacer-
bated by coinfections with porcine circovirus type 2
(PCV2). Risco et al. explored whether vaccination against
PCV2 affected TB prevalence and TB severity in wild boar.
Two groups of wild boar were studied, living in the same
game estate until they were hunted. TB prevalence was
similar in vaccinated and control groups, but the severity of
TB lesions was significantly higher in control animals than
in vaccinated wild boar, suggesting a positive effect of
PCV2 vaccination.
PARASITE PATHOLOGY IN PONDS
Ongoing changes in climate and nutrient loading in
freshwater systems can alter transmission of aquatic para-
238 In This Issue
sites at several stages in the life cycle, complicating efforts to
predict and mitigate disease risk. Here Paull and Johnson
show that the percentage of infected snails increased with
warmer temperatures, while overall snail population den-
sities declined. Greater nutrient concentrations increased
the likelihood that amphibians would suffer deformities as
a result of infection. Comparing how different forms of
environmental change drive shifts in disease risk is critical
for determining effective management strategies.
ARGH, ARGS IN OUR FERTILIZER
Manures and biosolids contain pathogens and antibiotic
resistance genes (ARGs) and are applied as fertilizers for
crops not intended for human consumption on lands wild
deer frequently visit. Rogers et al. investigated the preva-
lence of enteric pathogens and ARGs in the feces of deer as
related to proximity of collection to residuals application.
Campylobacter, tetracycline-resistant genes and ery-
thromycin-resistant genes were associated with proximity
of collection to concentrated animal feeding operations;
tetracycline-resistant genes were associated with proximity
to land-applied biosolids. As a result, deer in proximity to
these activities pose an increased risk to nearby produce
and water quality.
TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI TRANSMISSION
Hodo et al. used an ecological approach to study Try-
panosoma cruzi parasite transmission dynamics among
nonhuman primates (NHPs), wildlife, and kissing bugs
across the southern USA. Raccoons, opossums, and skunks
likely serve as key reservoirs of T. cruzi and live in close
proximity to the NHPs, endangering their livelihood.
Further, three species of kissing bugs were collected of
which 17% were infected. Interventions to protect NHP
and human health must focus on interrupting vector-me-
diated spillover from sylvatic cycles.
PERCEIVING THE THREAT
Safiou et al. describe the socioeconomic characteristics of
Beninese cattle farmers, their perception on tick burden, as
well as common tick control strategies in light of the cur-
rent Amblyomma tick infestation, and the growing preva-
lence of Rhipicephalus microplus. National and regional tick
control programs need to take into account the perception
and constraints of local communities to better mitigate
tick-borne diseases.
CONSERVATION AND INDIGENOUS WELL-BEING IN OKLAHOMA
This paper addresses the impact of Cherokee elder per-
spectives on the larger body of Cherokee citizens regarding
tribal land conservation and health in Oklahoma. Carroll
et al. surveyed Cherokee citizens before and after they
viewed a short PhotoVoice documentary conveying elders’
views on land use and health. Results showed significant
changes in citizens’ opinions after viewing the documen-
tary, including shifts in their priorities for funding tribal
land conservation. They conclude that broadcasting elder
perspectives using contemporary media technology is an
effective method for increasing knowledge about relation-
ships between land conservation and community health
and for increasing support for tribal land conservation
policy.
BONOBOS IN THE CONGO
Tourism and research are important tools for the protec-
tion of wild great ape populations. However, these activities
also involve a certain risk since human pathogens may
easily cross the species barrier and infect the great apes.
Here, Grutzmacher et al. describe respiratory disease
outbreaks in wild bonobos living in the Democratic
Republic of Congo caused by human respiratory syncytial
virus and human-derived bacterium, Streptococcus pneu-
moniae. Their data underline the need for a One Health
approach covering human and animals with the dual
positive effect of enhancing the health situation for people
and great apes.
PARASITES IN EUROPEAN BISON
Captive bred animals are often immunologically naıve and
more susceptible to pathogens. Kołodziej-Sobocinska et al.
investigated Ashworthius sidemi infection intensity of cap-
tive bred bison released into the wild and then culled,
compared with simultaneously studied wild-born animals.
Mean infection intensity of released bison was over three-
fold higher than in wild bison and indicates a rapid
In This Issue 239
acquisition of parasites in previously dewormed bison re-
leased from captivity. They propose that controlled expo-
sure of animals to parasites prior to release may be
beneficial and increase their immunity, and management
protocols should be established and standardized for
endangered species reintroductions.
240 In This Issue
The Economics of Infectious Disease, Trade and PandemicRisk
The emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases has long
been recognized as an incidental effect of our species’
activities on the planet—especially production and trade.
The emergence of zoonoses results from activities that
bring susceptible people into contact with livestock and
wild animals infected with novel pathogens—whether
bacteria, parasites, fungi, viruses or prions. Spread results
from activities that move infected individuals, or that alter
the range of wild reservoirs or vectors. Neither process is
new. Diseases such as plague, yellow fever, influenza, an-
thrax and tuberculosis all originally emerged through
contact with infected wild reservoirs. The spread of small-
pox, typhus, and measles from Europe to the USA in the
century after Columbus’s first voyage across the Atlantic
was an incidental effect of voyages of exploration and
exploitation.
What is new is the rate at which novel diseases are
emerging, and the speed with which they are spread. Severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory
syndrome (MERS), Hendra virus (HeV), and Nipah virus
(NiV) represent a host of zoonotic diseases first identified
only in the last 25 years—a product of population-driven
pressure on the world’s remaining wildlife refugia. The rate
by which emerging diseases spread is also accelerating, as a
by-product of the growth of trade and travel across
increasingly tightly linked networks. Once SARS arrived in
Hong Kong from Guangdong Province in China in February
2003, it was spread to multiple countries in a matter of days.
The global air traffic network now has the capacity to move
pathogens worldwide in a matter of hours.
While there is good reason to believe that rates of
emergence and spread will eventually saturate as pathogens
become increasingly widely distributed, this will not hap-
pen any time soon. Two recent studies identified novel
viruses from large sample set of two zoonotic disease
reservoirs (a fruit bat and a macaque) and then used mark-
recapture algorithms to estimate their unknown viral
diversity. Extrapolation to all terrestrial mammals and
water birds indicates that around 1.6 million unknown
viruses exist within viral families known to contain zoo-
noses in these host groups. This implies that there may be
between 650,000 and 840,000 unknown zoonoses waiting to
emerge (Carroll et al. 2018).
The current trends pose challenges for both the science
and management of infectious disease. From a scientific
perspective, the problem is to generate predictive models
that capture the interactive effects of the epidemiological,
ecological, and socioeconomic processes at work in emer-
gence and spread. There is scope for strengthening existing
models of both. Emergence risks tend to be highest in
tropical regions where population-driven expansion into
wildlife refugia brings susceptible people or livestock into
contact with wildlife reservoirs of diseases new to hu-
mankind (Jones et al. 2008). By combining efforts to model
diseases-in-waiting, the process of land use change and its
effects on population densities in wildlife refugia, and
exposure at the margins of converted land, it is possible to
estimate differences in the disease risks posed by similar
processes in different parts of the world. Spread risks, by
contrast, tend to be highest in regions most tightly con-
nected by trade and travel (Tatem et al. 2006a, b). By
combining efforts to model the epidemiological processes
involved, trade and travel networks, changes in trade and
travel volumes, and biosecurity along trade/travel routes, it
is possible to estimate differences in the disease risks faced
by people in different parts of the world.
EcoHealth 15, 241–243, 2018https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1347-0
Editorial
� 2018 EcoHealth Alliance
For both emergence and spread, risk is a product of
decisions made by people, and hence of the conditions that
lie behind those decisions. Factoring the decision process
into models of emergence and spread not only improves
the predictive power of those models, but adds to the
instruments available to disease managers (Perrings et al.
2014). The papers included in this special feature focus on
two issues. One is prediction of the course of disease once
an outbreak has occurred. A second is the role of private
decisions that either increase or decrease disease risk.
The special feature focuses on the effect of a decision-
environment that comprises both a public health/biosecu-
rity regime and the economic factors that drive risky
activities. The private decision to convert land at the edges
of wildlife refugia may, for example, be driven by relative
land prices, property rights and land access regimes, alter-
native employment opportunities, agricultural product
markets and so on. The private decision to import risk
materials similarly reflects relative product prices, shipping
costs, exchange rates and the like. In all such cases, the risk
to society depends on a private calculus—whether the pri-
vate benefits of a risky activity outweigh the private costs.
The volume and direction of trade are generally good
empirical predictors of the sources of epizootic and zoo-
notic diseases (Pavlin et al. 2009; Smith et al. 2009), but this
is conditioned by the effectiveness of the public health/
biosecurity regime in place. Biosecurity measures do not
always identify the source of risk. A ban on Russian pigs
and pig products caused by the presence of African swine
flu in Russia, for example, failed to remove the risk posed
by infected containers or trade vehicles that were not tar-
geted (Mur et al. 2012). Nonetheless, differences in biose-
curity measures on different trade routes do matter. The
growth of trade with emerging markets and developing
economies, for example, has increased the likelihood of
reinfection from existing reservoirs (Di Nardo et al. 2011).
Getting the science of infectious disease right implies a
better understanding of the epidemiological consequences
of trading decisions: the importer’s decision about what to
trade with whom, the traveller’s decision about where to go
and when. Among disease managers, there is current con-
cern that existing risk assessments and the risk management
strategies they inform fail to capture the true risks of trade.
In some instances the neglect of trade means that risks are
underestimated (Barker et al. 2006; King et al. 2006). In
others, the risks of either particular diseases or particular
commodities may be overestimated (Bruckner 2011; Mac-
Diarmid 2011).
Improving the management of infectious disease im-
plies a better appreciation of the potential for influencing
risk by altering not just the biosecurity regime but also the
costs and benefits facing both traders and travellers. Where
the risks faced by society are an externality of private
decisions, they can be mitigated by altering the private net
benefits of those decisions. Traders and travellers can be
confronted with the cost of their actions. In the limit, these
could include the expected cost of pandemics such as SARS,
Foot and Mouth Disease, or Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza. Strengthening the science of infectious disease to
include the factors behind risky decisions may provide
health authorities with a valuable set of tools with which to
contain risk. Charging traders with the expected cost of
their actions could generate valuable resources to respond
when emerging or re-emerging disease outbreaks occur.
Charles Perrings
School of Life Sciences,
Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
Simon Levin
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Princeton University, Princeton, USA
Peter Daszak
EcoHealth Alliance, New York, USA
REFERENCES
Barker I, Brownlie J, Peckham C, Pickett J, Stewart W, Waage J,et al. (2006) Foresight: Infectious Diseases—Preparing for theFuture, London: Office of Science and Innovation
Bruckner GK (2011) Managing the risks of disease transmissionthrough trade: a commodities-based approach? Scientific andTechnical Review International Office of Epizootics 30:289–296
Carroll D, Daszak P, Wolfe ND, Gao GF, Morel CM, Morzaria S,et al. (2018) The Global Virome Project. Science 359:872–874
Di Nardo A, Knowles NJ, Paton DJ (2011) Combining livestocktrade patterns with phylogenetics to help understand the spreadof foot and mouth disease in sub-Saharan Africa, the MiddleEast and Southeast Asia. Scientific and Technical Review Inter-national Office of Epizootics 30:63–85
Jones KE, Patel N, Levy M, Storeygard A, Balk D, Gittleman JL,et al. (2008) Global trends in emerging infectious diseases.Nature 451:990–993
King DA, Peckham C, Waage JK, Brownlie J, Woolhouse MEJ(2006) Infectious diseases: Preparing for the future. Science313:1392–1393
242 C. Perrings et al.
MacDiarmid TR (2011) The spread of pathogens through inter-national trade. Scientific and Technical Review InternationalOffice of Epizootics 30:13–17
Mur L, Martinez-Lopez B, Sanchez-Vizcaino JM (2012) Risk ofAfrican swine fever introduction into the European Unionthrough transport-associated routes: returning trucks and wastefrom international ships and planes. BMC Vet Res 8:149
Pavlin B, Schloegel LM, Daszak P (2009) Risk of ImportingZoonotic Diseases through Wildlife Trade, United States.Emerging Infectious Disease 15:1721–1726
Perrings C, Castillo-Chavez C, Chowell G, Daszak P, Fenichel E,Finnoff D, et al. (2014) Merging Economics and Epidemiology
to Improve the Prediction and Management of Infectious Dis-ease. Ecohealth 11:464–475
Smith KF, Behrens M, Schloegel LM, Marano N, Burgiel S, DaszakP (2009) Reducing the Risks of the Wildlife Trade. Science324:594–595
Tatem AJ, Hay SS, Rogers DJ (2006) Global traffic and diseasevector dispersal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences103:6242–6247
Tatem AJ, Rogers DJ, Hay SI (2006) Global transport networks andinfectious disease spread. Advances in Parasitology 62:293–343
Published online: July 12, 2018
The Economics of Infectious Disease, Trade and Pandemic Risk 243
What’s New
THE 5TH INTERNATIONAL ONE HEALTH
CONGRESS
The One Health Congress is the world’s premier conference
for the worldwide One Health community. One Health
advocates from all over the globe will gather for 4 days of
lectures, debates, workshops, and symposia. To capture the
multifaceted One Health paradigm, the Congress will have
distinct program tracks on One Health Science, Antimi-
crobial Resistance, and the Science/Policy Interface.
June 22–25, 2018, Saskatoon, Canada
https://onehealthplatform.com/international-one-
health-congress
ECOHEALTH 2018 CONGRESS
The overall theme of Ecohealth 2018 is ‘‘Environmental
and Health Equity: Connecting Local Alternatives in a
Global World.’’ This theme emphasizes the need to connect
local initiatives in a world with global drivers that threaten
healthy ecosystems and populations, and makes a call to
tackle these forces and pursue justice.
August 15–18, 2018, Cali, Colombia
http://ecohealth2018.co
WORLD HEALTH SUMMIT 2018
Held once a year, the World Health Summit has grown into
the world’s most prominent forum for addressing global
health issues. It brings together key leaders from academia,
politics, civil society, and the private sector to address the
most pressing health-related challenges on the planet.
October 14–16, 2018, Berlin, Germany
https://www.worldhealthsummit.org/conference.html
KEYSTONE SYMPOSIA: FRAMING
THE RESPONSE TO EMERGING VIRUS
INFECTIONS
The key themes to be covered include the need to under-
stand why zoonotic diseases matter, their association with
agriculture, the importance of surveillance and early
detection, and the difficulties of dealing with diseases that
involve both medical and veterinary communities. The
conference will bring together experts in virology,
immunology, vaccinology, and epidemiology with those
who seek to transfer knowledge between these groups,
veterinarians and industry and government.
October 14–18, 2018, Hong Kong
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/18S2
THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
ON EMERGING VIRAL DISEASES
This symposium gathers reports on outstanding scientific
achievements in a variety of research fields including
emerging viral pathogens, viral–host interaction, antiviral
immunity, and arboviruses. It will specially organize invited
talks, panel discussions, and academic posters to present
the latest developments in the related areas and to explore
the frontiers of emerging viral diseases. This symposium
will provide global researchers an open, high-quality
communication platform for exchanging the state-of-the-
art research and developments and for strengthening col-
laborations and communications.
October 20–22, 2018, Wuhan, China
http://english.whiov.cas.cn/Notice2016/201805/
t20180508_192264.html
EcoHealth 15, 472, 2018https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1341-6
What’s New
� 2018 EcoHealth Alliance
The Artist as Serial Killer
Peter Daszak1 and Yasha Feferholtz1
EcoHealth Alliance, 460 W 34th Street, New York, NY 10001
Writing an essay about a piece of art is a bit like
investigating a murder scene. The artist leaves us clues as to
their intent—hints of greater meaning that are necessarily
covered with multiple layers of deception and trickery. As
the artist produces each opus, these clues add together to
form the theme of the artist’s life work, just as a serial killer
lays out a pattern, knowingly or unwittingly, at the scenes
of each of their crimes. These clues may be explicit: Pi-
casso’s gradual breakdown of the face into a series of ab-
stract shapes; Rousseau’s juxtaposition of nature with
modern life to reflect our primordial fear of nature and
human origins, culminating in the magnificent The
Dream—his last painting. They may be subtle and hidden; a
challenge for the viewer to decipher, or a test of our
intellectual capacity to identify what the artist has hidden
for us.
So let us use our detective skills to interpret this issue’s
cover art, and find out what Minas Halaj’s ‘‘Banker’’ is
telling us about the artist’s motivation and goals. ‘‘Banker’’
portrays a financial worker from the Industrial Age, in a
thick woolen suit, whose face is covered and consumed by a
beautiful bouquet of chrysanthemums. Drawing parallels
with Rene Magritte’s The Great War (La Grande Guerre)
and other works, Halaj juxtaposes humanity with nature.
But there is a subtle difference in texture and tone between
Halaj and Magritte. Where Magritte works with smooth,
velvety concrete and buffed-up bowler hats, Halaj builds
painstakingly intricate, multi-layered, and complex col-
lages. This depth, the dull brown and gray washed back-
ground, and the occasional spatter of red paint and black
ink reminds me of the post-industrial decay that I would
see so often in the North of England in the 1970s. Like the
fireweed growing in a disused factory, the chrysanthemum
in ‘‘Banker’’ dominates the topography, sprouting from its
victim with vigor. The banker is clearly long-since deceased,
degrading into the fragmented parchment—a former will
or financial contract perhaps—and both symbols of a past
era. Thus, Halaj plays on themes of life and death, happi-
ness and mourning.
This issue of EcoHealth focuses on the economics of
infectious disease, trade and pandemic risk. To us,
Published online: August 6, 2018
Correspondence to: Yasha Feferholtz, e-mail: [email protected]
EcoHealth 15, 473–474, 2018https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1355-0
Cover Essay
� 2018 EcoHealth Alliance
‘‘Banker’’ reminds us of our relationship with nature, and
the competition between our desire to push forwards as a
species and dominate for economic gain, versus the need of
biodiversity in the landscape around. Like the flower,
bankers are a basic component in complex systems—in this
case financial markets. They create value by connecting
people in need of resources to those with excess, and
promoting consumption and well-being across economic
cycles. If they take on too much risk, they can destroy value
and bring populations to the point of war and famine.
While flowers symbolize happiness, they also create value,
as does all biodiversity, through providing ecosystem ser-
vices within their complex relationships.
Viewed through our detective lens, Halaj’s painting has
clear motive, a smoking gun and a trail of clues for us to
follow. The cause of death is suffocation, the airways closed
by the plants bulging tendrils. The crime is one of passion
and revenge. The banker’s motive is greed—his head lying
on a contract to log and grow crops on a patch of tropical
forest in one of the colonies. And the murderer……Well,
dear colleagues, I leave that to you. Read on, and all shall
eventually become clear.
474 P. Daszak, Y. Feferholtz