The overall purpose of ANTIGONE is to understand why some viruses and bacteria that originate from animals cause epidemics or even pandemics in humans whilst others do not (yet) or, in other words, to identify the key factors that contribute to the emergence of pathogens with human pandemic potential from pathogens with a zoonotic background.
This main objective is further detailed into three main project objectives:
- To identify and understand the key factors that render zoonotic viruses and bacteria with human pandemic potential prone to cross the species barriers, adapt to the human host and further to gain human-to-human transmissibility.
- To translate our increased understanding of key factors in the chain of emergence to risk assessment, and options for prevention and intervention of human pandemics emerging from zoonotic pathogens.
- To develop and implement a One Health training programme, combining human and veterinary medical expertise with those from other relevant disciplines, in order to equip the future generation of scientists with the necessary knowledge to deal with emerging zoonotic infectious diseases.