Zoonoses
The majority of previously unidentified or novel human infections that have emerged in the past 30 years, including many with outbreak potential, have originated from animal species. The most recent Regional examples are Nipah virus (Malaysia, 1996), human infection with avian influenza A/H5N1 (Hong Kong, 1997) and SARS coronavirus (China, 2002-2003). These emerging zoonoses were either newly recognized or occurred previously, but expanded in geographical or host range.
A major concern is the potential for zoonotic infections to become effectively transmissible from human to human. More established zoonotic infectious agents like Japanese encephalitis, plague and rabies have outbreak potential. Some of these are associated with high morbidity and mortality; for many, no effective treatment is available.
The complex nature of zoonotic infections and the fact that some important ones are vectorborne make their distribution (and therefore efforts to conduct surveillance) fundamentally different from other infections. The pattern in humans will usually depend on the distribution of the animal host/vector and the determining demographic features.
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Fact sheets
News and press releases
05 February 2009
Ebola Reston in pigs and humans in the Philippines
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05 March 2007
Initial tests report probable human case of avian influenza in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR)
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28 February 2007
First human case of avian influenza in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
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Relevant publications and documents
WHO Expert Consultation on Rabies, First Report WHO Technical Report Series, No 931
More than 99% of all human rabies deaths occur in the developing world, and although effective and economical control measures are available, the disease has not been brought under control throughout most of the affected countries. Given that a major factor in the low level of commitment to rabies control is a lack of accurate data on the true public health impact of the disease, this report of a WHO Expert Consultation begins by providing new data on the estimated burden of the disease and its distribution in the world. It also reviews recent progress in the classification of rabies viruses, rabies pathogenesis and diagnosis, rabies pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, the management of rabies patients, and canine as well as wildlife rabies prevention and control.
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Upcoming meetings and events
No meeting/event planned at this time.