H1N1 (“swine flu”), SARS, mad cow disease, and HIV/AIDS are a few examples of zoonotic diseases-diseases transmitted between humans and animals. Zoonotic diseases are a growing concern given multiple factors: their often novel and unpredictable nature, their ability to emerge anywhere and spread rapidly around the globe, and their major economic toll on several disparate … Continue reading
Category Archives: Animal Health
Africa / Animal Health / East Africa / Kenya / Pastoralism / Tanzania
Improving animal health in East Africa
In this podcast from the London International Development Centre, four vets describe the challenges affecting livestock within pastoralist communities in East Africa and explain an exciting project to monitor disease by using mobile phones. Dr Ezra Saitoti and Dr Paul Chacha, both field vets for the charity Vetaid, discuss how this innovative technology will help … Continue reading
Understanding how cattle think
Handling cattle can be a challenge under the best of circumstances, but those who do, from cow-calf producer to feedlot cowboy to livestock hauler, will find that the better they understand how cattle think as animals of prey, the better they will be at enhancing cattle health and performance, said veterinarian Tom Noffsinger. “Prey animals … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Health / Disease Control / East Africa / Livestock / Uganda / Vaccines
Makerere to produce vaccines and drugs for livestock
Makerere University is to start an animal institute which will produce vaccines and drugs for livestock and wild animals. The Africa Institute for Strategic Animal Resource Services will also train youth in livestock management. It will promote value addition and develop high market value products from cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and rabbits. to support the … Continue reading
USDA ARS and NIFA hold priorities workshop on animal health research
USDA’s Agriculture Research Service (ARS) and National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) held a two day workshop on March 23rd and 24th to discuss research priorities in the area of animal health. The workshop was well attended by a mix of industry, academia and government representatives. The goal of the workshop was to develop … Continue reading
Managing the risk of emerging diseases: From rhetoric to action
In the last fifteen years the world witnessed the emergence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow disease in the United Kingdom, Hendra virus in Australia, Nipah virus in Malaysia, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) or Bird Flu in Southeast Asia, and most recently Pandemic H1N1 Influenza, … Continue reading
PNG tribal life holds key to animal disease research
In the Papua New Guinea Highlands, people live in much the same way as they have for centuries. But even in these far reaches, technology is making its first tentative steps into this subsistence way of life. Villagers have been wooed by the lure of mobile telephones, provided to them by companies which are using … Continue reading
Globalization and one health: A gateway to the future?
On Tuesday March 17, at the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) annual meeting in Kansas City, Mo., more than 250 livestock industry professionals gathered for NIAA’s theme of “One Health: Implications for Animal Agriculture.” One Health is a collaborative effort of multiple disciplines to obtain optimal health for people, animals and the environment. The … Continue reading
The effect of climate change on the occurrence and prevalence of livestock diseases in Great Britain
There is strong evidence to suggest that climate change has, and will continue to affect the occurrence, distribution and prevalence of livestock diseases in Great Britain (GB). This paper reviews how climate change could affect livestock diseases in GB. Factors influenced by climate change and that could affect livestock diseases include the molecular biology of … Continue reading
Sustaining global surveillance and response to emerging zoonotic diseases
In Late 2009, the US National Academies launched a report calling for “a comprehensive, globally coordinated system to identify novel zoonotic disease threats as early as possible wherever they arise so appropriate measures can be taken to prevent significant numbers of human illnesses and deaths, and livestock losses.” The report argues that “zoonotic diseases are … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 