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Animal Health

A mobile phone-based surveillance system to support the rabies control program is currently in use across southern Tanzania and was implemented in Pemba since 2011. The system allows for near real-time reporting of information on: patients with animal bites reporting to health facilities that provide post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent rabies; suspected rabid animal cases submitted by livestock field officers (LFOs); and details of mass dog vaccination campaigns coordinated through each district livestock office.

Submitted by uysz on

H5N1 virus occurs mainly in birds. It is highly contagious and deadly among them. However, transmission in human is rare. The first and only confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza H5N1 virus in Nigeria was in 2006. Sporadic infection among poultry has been occurring in Nigeria with yearly estimated loss of millions of Dollars. Six Local Government Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria reported confirmed cases of H5N1 among birds. Affected birds were culled and human avian influenza surveillance was instituted.

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Cyanobacteria and marine algae are ubiquitous in the earth's freshwaters and oceans. Under the right circumstances, these organisms can proliferate, causing harmful algal blooms (HABs) which may produce toxins that threaten human and animal health as well as local and regional ecology. Animals may play in, swim in, or drink from ponds and lakes that have extensive blooms, even if the water bodies smell or look unpleasant to people; the first warning that a toxin-producing HAB exists may come from the death of a pet dog or livestock.

Submitted by uysz on

Food safety is a global issue with diverse challenges along various critical points in the food production chain. In India, food safety programs including establishment of surveillance programs and quantitative approaches through integration of various scientific disciplines, streamlined data collection, and analyses were still limited and inconsistently applied. There was need to build capacity of public health workforce in the areas of food surveillance, food borne disease surveillance, incident reporting, investigation of an outbreak and inspection.

Submitted by uysz on

Anthrax is endemic and enzootic in Georgia with cases being registered since 1881 with over 2000 foci identified. Since 2005, 439 laboratory confirmed and 211 probable human cases and 190 laboratory confirmed animal cases have been registered. A case-control study performed in 2012 by the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC), National Food Agency (NFA) and the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP) found the main transition routes for human cases are slaughtering diseased animals and handling raw meat without protective equipment.

Submitted by uysz on

Zoonotic diseases compose a large proportion of the disease burden faced by African countries (e.g. Ebola). A One Health approach to disease control has been embraced across the continent, yet public health and veterinary surveillance systems in most countries remained vertically isolated under separate Ministries. Data exchange, if it occurs, is ad hoc and informal.

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Description

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of veterinary, public health and economic significance in most developing countries, yet there are few studies that show integrated human and veterinary health care intervention focusing on integration at both activity and actors levels. The aim of our study, therefore, was to explore community perceptions on integration of animal vaccination and health education by veterinary and public health workers in the management of brucellosis.

Objective

To explore community perceptions on integration of animal vaccination and health education by veterinary and public health workers in the management of brucellosis.

Submitted by teresa.hamby@d… on

Accurate and timely reporting of animal rabies test results and potential human exposures is necessary to guide case management and define rabies epidemiology. Accordingly, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) collaborated with Kansas State University Rabies Laboratory (KSU-RL) in 2011 to establish electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) of animal rabies test results to Nebraska's Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS). If a potential human rabies exposure is verified, NDHHS authorizes state-paid rabies testing through a contractual agreement with KSU-RL.

Submitted by uysz on

From December 2014 to February 2015, Maricopa County, Arizona was the host site for several high profile events, including Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. Public health officials were allocated with implementing numerous enhanced surveillance activities to quickly identify health risks to the public. These included laboratory-based surveillance, mortality surveillance, and syndromic surveillance at select hospitals, urgent cares, hotels, and on-site at the events.

Submitted by uysz on

Pakistan being a subtropical region is highly susceptible to water-borne, air-borne and vector-borne infectious diseases (IDs). Each year, millions of its people are exposed to, and infected with, deadly pathogens including hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria, and now-a-days dengue fever (DF). Monitoring and response management to natural or man-made IDs is non-existent in the country due to lack of robust infrastructure for health surveillance. DF outbreaks in 2005-2011 alone resulted in more than 50,000 infections and about 1500 people lost their lives.

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