How to Prevent Zoonosis

Zoonoses are diseases passed from animals to humans, either directly through skin contact, for example, or from human consumption of diseased animal tissue. The World Health Organization recognizes more than 200 zoonotic diseases. In fact, about 75 percent of new diseases affecting humans over the past decade have been caused by pathogens originating in animals. Realizing that communication is perhaps the best deterrent to the spread of disease, WHO has worked to perfect its system of communicating to and educating health care workers about the spread of animal-human diseases before pandemics develop.

Instructions

• 1

  Educate those who work with animals and animal meat on recognizing animal diseases. One tragic example is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Mad cow disease rose to almost 1,000 new cases a week in Britain in 1993. Through the end of 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 184,500 cases of BSE had been confirmed in Britain, possibly caused by feeding herds a mix of feed from infected cows. Epidemiologists believe enough evidence exists to conclude that the disease led to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in a small number of humans who ate infected beef. Since the mad cow outbreak in Britain, scientists and farmers around the world have learned to spot and isolate any cattle showing signs of BSE.

• 2

  Prevent transmission of infections from animals. Mosquitoes, for instance, are much more than just pests. They can carry a number of diseases, from mildly irritating ones to potentially fatal encephalitis and dengue fever. Since dengue fever has emerged as a major disease in warm countries, public health officials have developed better prevention mechanisms, from large-scale mosquito spraying programs and removal of standing water to distribution of mosquito nets and education about various insect repellents.

• 3

  Communicate methods of diagnosing and preventing the spread of zoonotic diseases. The World Health Organization has developed a program called GLEWS (Global Early Warning System for Major Animal Diseases), along with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), to share information on zoonoses worldwide.