Developments in Animal Health Surveillance, volume II

Book excerpt: Animal health surveillance aims to facilitate early detection of outbreaks, disease control, animal welfare management, protection of public health, planning and decision-making. It is a continuous process of collecting key information to produce surveillance insights that are acted upon. The ongoing gathering of information is mostly based on the reporting of signs of disease by those close to animals such as animal owners, animal carers, animal health practitioners and diagnosticians. This is often complemented by regular diagnostic testing, in one form or another, to determine the health status of a particular animal population. This surveillance approach faces growing challenges in many countries worldwide. The challenges include the emergence of new pathogens, budget constraints, expansion of disease-vector ranges due to climate change, the spread of zoonoses as well as changing public and stakeholder expectations. To meet these challenges, it is important to find new ways of enhancing existing surveillance approaches and develop new ones. These include undertaking a One-Health approach in which humans, animals, plants and the environment are part of an integrated ecosystem. Within the animal ecosphere, surveillance coverage should be adequate for all different animal-types i.e. livestock, companion animals, wildlife and feral animals. This research topic aims to collate innovative ideas for enhancing all aspects of animal health surveillance. Strengthening participation in surveillance by those close to animals is critical. Other aspects include, but are not limited to, sample collection, diagnostic processes, data and information collection, data analysis and information dissemination. We also encourage submission of manuscripts with a multidisciplinary scope and those that provide new insights in surveillance implementation or policy.