TY - JOUR
T1 - Ecology of zoonoses
T2 - Natural and unnatural histories
AU - Karesh, William B.
AU - Dobson, Andrew P.
AU - Lloyd-Smith, James O.
AU - Lubroth, Juan
AU - Dixon, Matthew A.
AU - Bennett, Malcolm
AU - Aldrich, Stephen
AU - Harrington, Todd
AU - Formenty, Pierre
AU - Loh, Elizabeth H.
AU - MacHalaba, Catherine C.
AU - Thomas, Mathew Jason
AU - Heymann, David L.
PY - 2012/12
Y1 - 2012/12
N2 - More than 60% of human infectious diseases are caused by pathogens shared with wild or domestic animals. Zoonotic disease organisms include those that are endemic in human populations or enzootic in animal populations with frequent cross-species transmission to people. Some of these diseases have only emerged recently. Together, these organisms are responsible for a substantial burden of disease, with endemic and enzootic zoonoses causing about a billion cases of illness in people and millions of deaths every year. Emerging zoonoses are a growing threat to global health and have caused hundreds of billions of US dollars of economic damage in the past 20 years. We aimed to review how zoonotic diseases result from natural pathogen ecology, and how other circumstances, such as animal production, extraction of natural resources, and antimicrobial application change the dynamics of disease exposure to human beings. In view of present anthropogenic trends, a more effective approach to zoonotic disease prevention and control will require a broad view of medicine that emphasises evidence-based decision making and integrates ecological and evolutionary principles of animal, human, and environmental factors. This broad view is essential for the successful development of policies and practices that reduce probability of future zoonotic emergence, targeted surveillance and strategic prevention, and engagement of partners outside the medical community to help improve health outcomes and reduce disease threats.
AB - More than 60% of human infectious diseases are caused by pathogens shared with wild or domestic animals. Zoonotic disease organisms include those that are endemic in human populations or enzootic in animal populations with frequent cross-species transmission to people. Some of these diseases have only emerged recently. Together, these organisms are responsible for a substantial burden of disease, with endemic and enzootic zoonoses causing about a billion cases of illness in people and millions of deaths every year. Emerging zoonoses are a growing threat to global health and have caused hundreds of billions of US dollars of economic damage in the past 20 years. We aimed to review how zoonotic diseases result from natural pathogen ecology, and how other circumstances, such as animal production, extraction of natural resources, and antimicrobial application change the dynamics of disease exposure to human beings. In view of present anthropogenic trends, a more effective approach to zoonotic disease prevention and control will require a broad view of medicine that emphasises evidence-based decision making and integrates ecological and evolutionary principles of animal, human, and environmental factors. This broad view is essential for the successful development of policies and practices that reduce probability of future zoonotic emergence, targeted surveillance and strategic prevention, and engagement of partners outside the medical community to help improve health outcomes and reduce disease threats.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61678-X
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61678-X
M3 - Review article
C2 - 23200502
AN - SCOPUS:84870261809
VL - 380
SP - 1936
EP - 1945
JO - The Lancet
JF - The Lancet
SN - 0140-6736
IS - 9857
ER -