ZOONOTIC DISEASES

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Posted 7/18/2005 11:40 PM

 

Two reports sound the alarm on animal-borne diseases

By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

Even as animal-borne diseases that can kill humans and wreak economic havoc pose

increasing threats to the USA, there's a growing shortage of veterinary experts

to meet the challenge and a muddle of agencies responsible for protecting the

public, say two reports released today by the National Academies' National

Research Council.

" In 2003, we woke up one morning and found out we had monkey-pox, West Nile

virus and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in the United States, three

diseases which had never existed here before, " says Lonnie King, dean of the

college of veterinary medicine at Michigan State University in East Lansing and

chair of the panel that wrote the report, " Animal Health at the Crossroads. "

 

" Three-quarters of the new human emerging disease in the past two to three

decades have been animal-borne. "

 

And the future probably will contain more such outbreaks given the increasing

encroachment of humans into wildlife habitats, the globalization of food and

agricultural production, changing climate patterns, the threat of bioterrorism

and tens of thousands of planes and ships carrying potential infection in every

direction, the report says.

 

To deal with the threat, the USA needs a " high-level, authoritative mechanism "

to coordinate the private, local, state and federal agencies that deal with

animal-borne illnesses, the report says.

 

One recommendation is for the Agriculture Department and the Homeland Security

Department to work together to support the rapid development of tests and tools

to detect, diagnose and prevent animal-borne diseases.

 

This would require that the USA's animal health laboratory network be expanded

and that federal agencies begin working to jointly finance research programs on

zoonotic, or animal-to-human, disease, the report says.

 

Equally troubling is that as these problems have grown, the numbers of

veterinarians, veterinary pathologists and researchers to deal with them is

shrinking, says the second report, " Critical Needs for Research in Veterinary

Science. "

 

" A lot of veterinarians average $80,000 in debt when they finish their degrees,

so it's very difficult to entice them to spend three more years in school

getting their Ph.D " in veterinary pathology, says Jim Womack, the professor of

veterinary pathobiology at Texas A & M University who chaired the panel that wrote

the report.

 

There also is a shortage of money and facilities to conduct that research. For

example, Womack says, there's only one Level 4 (the highest level)

biocontainment laboratory in the USA that can deal with livestock.

 

Agriculture Department spokeswoman Hallie Pickhardt says the agency is prepared

to respond with its federal and state partners to an animal health emergency but

appreciates the additional guidance the reports give.

 

She adds that the USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, which monitors

animal health in the USA, already has begun several programs to encourage

veterinarians to work in the field of zoonotic disease and public health.