Thierry Lefrançois of CIRAD, first veterinarian appointed to the French Covid-19 Scientific Council
Thierry Lefrançois, veterinarian and specialist in integrated health networks and approaches at CIRAD, has just been appointed to the French Scientific Council on Covid-19. This is the first time a veterinarian has joined the experts on this council, which was created last March to inform public decision-making on the management of the health situation, under the Ministry of Solidarity and Health.
"Our public policies must be fully and concretely aligned with the One Health concept." Effectively combating the emergence or spread of certain diseases requires greater consideration of the interactions between humans, animals, and their environment," said Julien Denormandie, Minister of Agriculture and Food, when announcing the appointment of Thierry Lefrançois of CIRAD, the first veterinarian to join the Covid-19 Scientific Council. The appointment was published on February 17 in the Official Journal.
The last few decades have been marked by health crises that have often highlighted the interdependence between animals, humans, and ecosystems. Several zoonoses bear witness to this, such as rabies, avian and swine flu, salmonellosis... and, of course, COVID-19. Preserving biodiversity and ensuring the biosecurity of animal production systems, using a comprehensive health approach, can help prevent the emergence and spread of these diseases.
This appointment symbolizes a desire to break down barriers between the three areas of animal, human, and environmental health. "We have been implementing the One Health concept for over 10 years at CIRAD, taking a multisectoral, multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach that integrates all aspects of health," emphasizes Thierry Lefrançois, Director of CIRAD's Biological Systems Department, whose work focuses on living organisms and their diversity, from the genome to the socio-ecosystem.
Behind this appointment lies not only the selection of a scientific figure, but also a profession, expertise, and the ability to lead international networks. "Veterinarians have extensive knowledge and experience of coronaviruses, epizootics, interspecies transmission, predictive epidemiology, and multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approaches to crisis anticipation," explains Thierry Lefrançois. This expertise is applied to numerous diseases and in many CIRAD projects.
Brief biography of Thierry Lefrançois
In his new role, Thierry Lefrançois plans to draw on a vast network of peers in France and abroad.
Chief Inspector of Veterinary Public Health, Thierry Lefrançois has been working at CIRAD for over twenty years on the diagnosis, epidemiology, and control of tropical animal diseases. He has worked in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Guadeloupe, among other places. His research activities have focused on the emergence of diseases and the development of interactions between research and surveillance within the framework of regional health networks in the South.
He currently heads CIRAD's Biological Systems Department, which brings together research units working in animal health, plant health, plant adaptations, and biodiversity.
Currently a member of the INRAE Scientific Council, he has also served as chair of the Scientific Council of the National Veterinary School of Toulouse, member of the National Committee for Animal Health Epidemiological Surveillance (Cnesa), and expert for the French alliance AVIESAN, the National Research Agency (ANR), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).