The latest work by Michel Gauthier-Clerc, entitled “Une mouette est morte à l’Assemblée nationale” (A Gull died at the National Assembly), deals with the current emergence of infectious diseases originating from animals and particularly wildlife. The book – accessible to any reader – advocates an alliance between health sciences and ecology for better anticipation and management of these problems.
In 2006, a gull dies at the National Assembly, the army stockpiles tons of medicines at secret locations, police officers kill ducks, cats are abandoned, town halls are told to prepare for coffin management. The H5N1 virus, bird flu, passes by. In 2009, H5N1 has vanished from the news, H1N1 arrives, and the French population refuses en masse to get vaccinated.
We are more and more frequently confronted with the emergence or re-emergence of infectious diseases such as SARS, Ebola, West Nile Fever or H5N1. Most of them originate from animals, particularly wild ones. And while we have never been so well equipped to deal with them, reactions during crisis situations remain largely inappropriate, with scientific reasoning rarely being heard amongst public emotion. Nature, wild beasts and microbes are easy scapegoats for our fears, forgetting the underlying reasons for these emerging diseases. The rapid and global ecological upheavals caused by human activities affect all forms of biodiversity right down to viruses, bacteria and protozoa. The health crisis and the biodiversity crisis are one and the same. Breaking down the barriers between animal health and human health, this book advocates a new alliance between health sciences and ecological sciences, in order to move on from the absolutist “fighting against” to the acceptance of “living with” and, by means of health ecology, better to anticipate and manage the risks.
Launch planned for 14/04/2011
Author: Michel Gauthier-Clerc (Research Director at the Tour du Valat)
Editions Buchet Chastel – Price: 17 euros – ISBN : 978-2-283-02426-3