#NCNGeneration– Maciej Grzybek: One Health – humans, animals and environment

The next researcher in the series, Maciej Grzybek, studies pathogens transmitted by ticks, mosquitoes, and rodents, and analyses how climate change is driving the spread of tropical diseases northwards.

The NCN Generation is made up of researchers whose work pushes back the frontiers of knowledge and changes our lives, improving health, protecting the environment, advancing technology and deepening our understanding of the world. 

Prof. Maciej Grzybek, parasitologist and epidemiologist from the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, studies rodent-borne diseases and emerging infectious diseases. He is a member of the Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organisation. His project on urban rodent-borne pathogens is funded by the National Science Centre.

Diseases crossing climatic boundaries 

Pathogens do not respect state or climatic boundaries. Bacteria, viruses and parasites travel with the goods, travellers, and pets. This process is speeded up by climate change and human activity, therefore tropical diseases are now emerging in Europe and in Poland alone. The researcher points out that tick-borne diseases and mosquito-borne diseases pose two major threats to public health. He says that we may soon experience an outbreak of West Nile virus infection and dengue. He also mentions Lyme disease which has already emerged in Poland. Alongside these diseases, new vectors are emerging in Poland, including migrating ticks, that have not previously been found here. 

Virom of urban rats 

A research project carried out by Maciej Grzybka together with […] focuses on urban rat-borne pathogens. Urban rats have shared space with humans for generations, and their growing population in cities such as Krakow, Wrocław and Gdańsk provides valuable research material. The research team analyses their distribution and population density, as well as the bacteria and parasites they may carry. The starting point is the assumption that every city is a unique ecosystem, with different access to water, infrastructure, as well as different food sources for rats, which can affect the pathogens they carry. The project aims to create a map of their distribution and associated threats, enabling local and national measures to be taken to prevent the spread of zoonotic disease.

One Health approach and path from research to decisions 

In his research, Prof. Grzybek applies the One Health strategy according to which human health cannot be safeguarded without also protecting animal health and the environment. Biomonitoring, which is an observation of pathogens and their vectors in the environment allows us to acquire key knowledge to implement corrective and preventive measures. Prof. Maciej Grzybek emphasizes that basic research answers fundamental questions, such as what, where, how, and when. Their findings can then serve as a basis for applied or implementation research. He refers back to June 2023, when research teams from Gdańsk, Kraków and Helsinki detected that cats were infected with avian influenza virus and passed this information on to the sanitary and veterinary services. He believes that the effective transfer of knowledge among local authorities and public institutions is essential when developing measures to ensure public health security.

Selected excerpts

Pathogens without borders 

We certainly need to remember that parasites, bacteria, viruses, and fungi know no borders. They move. They move together with the goods we trade, together with travellers who go abroad and move from place to place, and also together with us, with our four-legged friends.

One Health approach 

I use the so-called One Health in my research and in my work in general. (…) If we know what microorganisms and pathogens are present, where they occur, what transmits them, and in which locations they occur, then, such knowledge would enable us to implement corrective or preventive measures. 

From basic research to application 

In basic research we always answer a very, perhaps not simple, but precisely fundamental question: what, where, how, and when. Our findings can then be implemented or applied.