title: The Vietnam Initiative on Zoonotic Infections (VIZIONS): A Strategic Approach to Studying Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.
abstract: The effect of newly emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases of zoonotic origin in human populations can be potentially catastrophic, and large-scale investigations of such diseases are highly challenging. The monitoring of emergence events is subject to ascertainment bias, whether at the level of species discovery, emerging disease events, or disease outbreaks in human populations. Disease surveillance is generally performed post hoc, driven by a response to recent events and by the availability of detection and identification technologies. Additionally, the inventory of pathogens that exist in mammalian and other reservoirs is incomplete, and identifying those with the potential to cause disease in humans is rarely possible in advance. A major step in understanding the burden and diversity of zoonotic infections, the local behavioral and demographic risks of infection, and the risk of emergence of these pathogens in human populations is to establish surveillance networks in populations that maintain regular contact with diverse animal populations, and to simultaneously characterize pathogen diversity in human and animal populations. Vietnam has been an epicenter of disease emergence over the last decade, and practices at the human/animal interface may facilitate the likelihood of spillover of zoonotic pathogens into humans. To tackle the scientific issues surrounding the origins and emergence of zoonotic infections in Vietnam, we have established The Vietnam Initiative on Zoonotic Infections (VIZIONS). This countrywide project, in which several international institutions collaborate with Vietnamese organizations, is combining clinical data, epidemiology, high-throughput sequencing, and social sciences to address relevant one-health questions. Here, we describe the primary aims of the project, the infrastructure established to address our scientific questions, and the current status of the project. Our principal objective is to develop an integrated approach to the surveillance of pathogens circulating in both human and animal populations and assess how frequently they are exchanged. This infrastructure will facilitate systematic investigations of pathogen ecology and evolution, enhance understanding of viral cross-species transmission events, and identify relevant risk factors and drivers of zoonotic disease emergence.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immunity, Infection & Evolution, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.|Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Maia A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rabaa
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Ngo Tri
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Tue
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Tran My
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Phuc
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carrique-Mas
authors.affiliation: Global Viral, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saylors
authors.affiliation: The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cotten
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.|Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Juliet E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|The Hospital for Tropical Diseases, 764 Vo Van Kiet, Quan 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Ho Dang Trung
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Nghia
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Nguyen Van
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Cuong
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Hong Anh
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berto
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Voong Vinh
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Phat
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Tran Thi Ngoc
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Dung
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Long Hoang
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Ngo Thi
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Hoa
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.|Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Heiman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wertheim
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.|Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Behzad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nadjm
authors.affiliation: Global Viral, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: Corina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Monagin
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: H Rogier
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: van Doorn
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Motiur
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: My Phan Vu
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Tra
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: James I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Maciej F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Boni
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Pham Thi Thanh
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Hoek
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immunity, Infection & Evolution, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simmonds
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immunity, Infection & Evolution, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rambaut
authors.affiliation: Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Tran Khanh
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Toan
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Tropical Diseases, 764 Vo Van Kiet, Quan 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Nguyen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Vinh Chau
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Tran Tinh
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Hien
authors.affiliation: Global Viral, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wolfe
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Jeremy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Farrar
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thwaites
authors.affiliation: The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kellam
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immunity, Infection & Evolution, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Mark E J
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Woolhouse
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. sbaker@oucru.org.|Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK. sbaker@oucru.org.|The Hospital for Tropical Diseases, 764 Vo Van Kiet, Quan 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. sbaker@oucru.org.|The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. sbaker@oucru.org.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D014481:United States; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission*
keywords: Vietnam; diagnostics; disease surveillance; diseases of unknown origin; genomics; high-risk cohort; social science; ultra-deep sequencing; zoonotic infection