One Health and Echinococcosis Conferences in Xinjiang

Participants: Karima Achour (World Association of Echinococcosis), Oleg Blagosklonov (CHU Jean-Minjoz), Oxana Blagosklonov (CHU Jean-Minjoz), Patrick Giraudoux (Chrono-environnement and Académie vétérinaire de France), Georges Mantion (Académie nationale de médecine), Laurence Millon (National Reference Centre for Echinococcosis, Chrono-environnement), Dominique Vuitton (Académie nationale de médecine).

At the invitation of Professor Wen Hao, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia, a series of scientific conferences and exchanges was held in the hospitals of Urumqi, Yining and Kashi, Xinjiang.

These meetings brought together clinicians, researchers and public health experts to discuss the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of echinococcosis. A major focus was placed on the One Health approach, highlighting the importance of integrated collaboration between human, animal and ecosystem health sectors to strengthen prevention and control strategies against this neglected zoonotic disease.

The conferences also provided an opportunity to prepare for the next World Congress on Echinococcosis, which will take place in September 2027 in Xining, Qinghai Province, China. Discussions helped define key scientific priorities and foster international cooperation ahead of this major event.

Beyond the scientific programme, the visit offered a valuable occasion to reconnect with long-standing colleagues and friends. Many of them had collaborated in multidisciplinary research projects on the transmission ecology of echinococcosis conducted between the mid-1990s and 2006 in the Djungar Basin, the Altai Mountains and the upper Yili Valley in the Tian Shan mountain range, contributing significantly to the understanding of alveolar echinococcosis epidemiology and control in Central Asia.