Confronting zoonoses, linking human and veterinary medicine

Many of the emerging infectious diseases, including those caused by bioterrorist agents, are zoonoses. Since zoonoses can infect both animals and humans, the medical and veterinary communities should work closely together in clinical, public health, and research settings. In the clinical setting, in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emerging infectious diseases 2006-04, Vol.12 (4), p.556-561
Main Author: Kahn, Laura H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Avian influenza virus
Biomedical Research - methods
Bioterrorism
Causes of
Communicable Diseases, Emerging - prevention & control
Communicable Diseases, Emerging - transmission
Disease Notification
Disease Outbreaks - prevention & control
Disease Outbreaks - veterinary
Humans
perspective
physicians
Population Surveillance
Prevention
Public Health
Risk factors
United States
veterinarians
West Nile virus
Zoonoses
Zoonoses - epidemiology
Zoonoses - transmission
Zoonosis
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Summary:Many of the emerging infectious diseases, including those caused by bioterrorist agents, are zoonoses. Since zoonoses can infect both animals and humans, the medical and veterinary communities should work closely together in clinical, public health, and research settings. In the clinical setting, input from both professions would improve assessments of the risk-benefit ratios of pet ownership, particularly for pet owners who are immunocompromised. In public health, human and animal disease surveillance systems are important in tracking and controlling zoonoses such as avian influenza virus, West Nile virus, and foodborne pathogens. Comparative medicine is the study of disease processes across species, including humans. Physician and veterinarian comparative medicine research teams should be promoted and encouraged to study zoonotic agent-host interactions. These efforts would increase our understanding of how zoonoses expand their host range and would, ultimately, improve prevention and control strategies.
ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059
DOI:10.3201/eid1204.050956