Trans-national zoonoses. The interacting role of environmental and socio-political processes on zoonotic pathogen futures.

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The UK and Italy are two similarly sized European nations, yet their climates, land types and socio-political systems differ substantially. Zoonotic pathogen transmission occurs against the backdrop of these differences. Zoonotic pathogens have a range of transmission strategies, (e.g. insect vectored, food borne, directly transmitted) and, 'between nation' differences, are likely to have different effects on zoonoses transmitted in different ways. For example, a directly transmitted pathogen such as SARS-Cov-2, may be less affected by climate and land use but substantially affected by different control processes influenced by the countries' political and governance systems. Conversely, the tick borne Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of Lyme's disease, may be more strongly influenced by land type and use and by climatic conditions. For still others, such as some food borne infections, environment, politics and societal influences (e.g. dietary preferences), may all be similarly important. Predicting the future spatial prevalence and designing efficacious control for these zoonotic pathogens, therefore, requires a Planetary Health approach (PH). A PH approach recognises that these socio-political and nature-based drivers need to be understood together in relation to the transmission strategies of the zoonotic pathogen. Learning from different socio-cultural and ecological contexts can help inform best practice.