Surveillance for Zoonotic Diseases

• Published in: Concepts and Methods in Infectious Disease Surveillance pp. 92 - 106
• Main Authors: Pimentel, Linda Capewell, Taylor, Ethel V
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 22.09.2014
• Subjects: brucellosis; emerging; plague; rabies; sentinel surveillance; Zoonoses; zoonotic diseases
• ISBN: 9780470659397; 0470659394
• DOI: 10.1002/9781118928646.ch10

Zoonotic diseases (zoonoses) include viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections. Infections as diverse as influenza, anthrax, rabies, salmonellosis, and plague can be transmitted between animals and humans. Over half of known human pathogens and emerging pathogens have an animal origin. Contemporary factors leading to increased zoonotic disease transmission include travel, climate change, and greater proximity of humans to animal populations due to urbanization and habitat loss. Although surveillance systems for human and animal diseases have traditionally been separate, newer approaches including “One Health” seek to better integrate surveillance across species. While many traditional forms of surveillance such as active, passive, and sentinel have been applied to zoonotic disease surveillance, newer methods including syndromic and participatory surveillance are also being explored and implemented. Both nationally and internationally, collaboration between organizations charged with human and animal health holds promise for more rapid detection of established and emerging zoonoses, with results that could benefit both animal and human populations.