Page 2 of 2Out of 56 zoonoses studied, the researchers found 13 that were most important in terms of their impact on human deaths, the livestock sector and the severity of disease in people, along with their amenability to agriculture-based control.
Among the high-priority zoonoses studied here are ‘endemic zoonoses’, such as brucellosis, which cause the vast majority of illness and death in poor countries; ‘epidemic zoonoses’, which typically occur as outbreaks, such as anthrax and Rift Valley fever; and the relatively rare ‘emerging zoonoses’, such as bird flu, a few of which, like HIV/AIDS, spread to cause global cataclysms.
Most human infections with zoonoses come from livestock, including pigs, chickens, cattle, goats, sheep and camels.
The most rapid changes in pig and poultry farming are expected in Burkina Faso and Ghana in Africa and India, Myanmar and Pakistan in Asia.
Pig and poultry farming is also intensifying more rapidly than other farm commodity sectors, with more animals being raised in more concentrated spaces, which raises the risk of disease spread.
The goal of the research was to identify areas where better control of zoonotic diseases would most benefit poor people.
