Important statistics
75% of emerging human diseases
are zoonotic (animal to human)
300% increase in outbreaks
seen in zoonotic diseases over the past 30 years
~2.5 billion cases of illness and 2.7 million deaths
from zoonoses every year
540,000 - 850,000 unknown viruses
existing in nature are estimated to be zoonotic
Focus
While Australia has strong national capability, gaps have also been exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our nation has been comparatively successful in its response and is well placed to further improve Australia’s resilience to infectious disease by leveraging key strengths across research, infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.
With a focus on emerging zoonotic diseases the mission in development is exploring work on:
- Medical products including rapid development and validation of diagnostics, vaccines & therapeutic products.
- Disease research for insight into how emerging diseases evolve.
- Bio surveillance to build the diagnostic tools for early detection of potential threats through environmental monitoring and zoonotic disease tracking.
- Systems improvement expanding the systems for data-driven decision making
Australia is also leveraging our strengths to support nearby neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region as it is recognised building infectious disease resilience across the region reduces the risk of outbreaks and spread for all.
Focus
While Australia has strong national capability, gaps have also been exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our nation has been comparatively successful in its response and is well placed to further improve Australia’s resilience to infectious disease by leveraging key strengths across research, infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.
With a focus on emerging zoonotic diseases the mission in development is exploring work on:
- Medical products including rapid development and validation of diagnostics, vaccines & therapeutic products.
- Disease research for insight into how emerging diseases evolve.
- Bio surveillance to build the diagnostic tools for early detection of potential threats through environmental monitoring and zoonotic disease tracking.
- Systems improvement expanding the systems for data-driven decision making
Australia is also leveraging our strengths to support nearby neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region as it is recognised building infectious disease resilience across the region reduces the risk of outbreaks and spread for all.