Zoonotic diseases: Can the transmission of pathogens between animals and humans be controlled?

Authors

  • Júlia Vergara Alert Animal Health Research Center IRTA-CReSA in Barcelona (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.13.24001

Keywords:

pandemic, global health, One Health, animal health surveillance, zoonoses

Abstract

After being associated with more than six million deaths so far, the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the worst diseases of animal origin known to date. Other zoonotic diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (2002–2004, which mainly affected China), Middle East respiratory syndrome (2012, mainly affecting the Middle East), Ebola (2013–2016 in West Africa), and Rift Valley fever (from 2016 to the present) have also caused major disease outbreaks in recent decades. In addition, and especially in low-income countries, some zoonotic diseases such as tuberculosis and rabies are endemic and cause thousands of deaths. Of note, up to 60 % of known infectious diseases and 75 % of emerging infectious diseases have an animal origin and are responsible for public health problems and economic losses.

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Author Biography

Júlia Vergara Alert, Animal Health Research Center IRTA-CReSA in Barcelona (Spain).

Researcher at the Animal Health Research Center IRTA-CReSA in Barcelona (Spain). PhD in Animal Medicine and Health. She worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Virology in Marburg (Germany). Since 2020 she is a member of the Working Group on animal models of COVID-19 of the World Health Organization. She is also a member of the Horizon Group, created by the Regional Government of Catalonia to advise on R&D&I strategies. 

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Published

2023-02-23

How to Cite

Vergara Alert, J. (2023). Zoonotic diseases: Can the transmission of pathogens between animals and humans be controlled?. Metode Science Studies Journal, (13), 119–123. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.13.24001
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