COVID-19/Disease X case study

Sars-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as a model for unknown pathogens

At the end of 2019, the first case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was reported in Wuhan, China. The novel coronavirus is a new strain of coronavirus which had not been identified in humans before, spreading very quickly across the globe and causing one of the most serious pandemics of the 21st century.

The current rates of urbanisation, globalization, high mobility and trade, human pressure on the environment and climate change are favouring the emergence of unknown infectious diseases, i.e.“infections that have newly appeared in a population or have existed previously but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range”. More than 60% of zoonoses and their incidence have significantly increased over time placing an additional burden on human and veterinary public health services.

Since its beginning, the MOOD project has been at the frontline of COVID-19 research. The COVID-19 case study implemented in this stage of the project adopts a retrospective approach with the aim to describe all scientific and development work produced by MOOD partners to address the needs of Public Health agencies and governments during the different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 activities

MOOD Contacts for COVID-19

Case Study Facilitator

Chiara Poletto, 
researcher at Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), France

Modelling

Esther Van Kleef
Senior epidemiologist at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp

Modelling

Wim van Bortel
medical entomologist at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp

Contributor

Danijela Simic
Institute of Public Health of Serbia

Case Animator

Fanny Bouyer
Social Scientist at GERDAL

MOOD Coordinator

Elena Arsevska

Elena Arsevska
Veterinary Epidemiologist at CIRAD, France

Upcoming meetings

Upcoming Events

Any question? Contact MOOD!

Content validated by: Elena Arsevska (CIRAD), Fanny Bouyer (GERDAL)