Neglected and endemic zoonoses

Ian Maudlin, Mark Charles Eisler, Susan Christina Welburn

Research output: Contribution to journalLiterature reviewpeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Endemic zoonoses are found throughout the developing world, wherever people live in close proximity to their animals, affecting not only the health of poor people but often also their livelihoods through the health of their livestock. Unlike newly emerging zoonoses that attract the attention of the developed world, these endemic zoonoses are by comparison neglected. This is, in part, a consequence of under-reporting, resulting in underestimation of their global burden, which in turn artificially downgrades their importance in the eyes of administrators and funding agencies. The development of cheap and effective vaccines is no guarantee that these endemic diseases will be eliminated in the near future. However, simply increasing awareness about their causes and how they may be prevented-often with very simple technologies-could reduce the incidence of many endemic zoonoses. Sustainable control of zoonoses is reliant on surveillance, but, as with other public-sector animal health services, this is rarely implemented in the developing world, not least because of the lack of sufficiently cheap diagnostics. Public-private partnerships have already provided advocacy for human disease control and could be equally effective in addressing endemic zoonoses.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2777-2787
Number of pages11
JournalPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume364
Issue number1530
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Sept 2009

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • endemic zoonoses
  • poverty
  • burden of disease
  • under-reporting

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