Evaluation of Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories as a Possible Data Source for Prospective Outbreak Surveillance

Current veterinary surveillance systems may be ineffective for timely detection of outbreaks involving non-targeted disease. Earlier detection could enable quicker intervention that might prevent the spread of disease and limit lost revenue. Data sources, similar to those used for early outbreak surveillance in humans, may provide for earlier outbreak detection in animals. Veterinary diagnostic laboratories are a source of data that might be valuable to such efforts.

Objective

To study the value of data from veterinary diagnostic laboratories as an initial step in developing an early outbreak surveillance system for animals.