TA-ANALYSIS: Accelerated trend in animal to human disease.

There is a trend that seems to be increasing of diseases jumping from animals to humans. There also seems to be a lack of cooperation between the animal and human health sectors that might be one of the leading causes in avoiding any more diseases jumping to humans.

International experts warn of acceleration in animal-to-human disease
"GENEVA (AFP) - International experts warned that the emergence of new diseases that are passed from animals to humans, such as avian flu, was accelerating and they were ill-equipped to counter the trend.

Their conclusions came at the end of a three-day meeting of scientists dealing with animal and human health at the World Health Organisation, which examined the diseases that can jump the species barrier, known as zoonoses.

"Their current upward trend is likely to continue," Francois-Xavier Meslin of the WHO told journalists.

"The number of zoonotic diseases is very large and those that emerge as public health problems in both the developed and developing world are increasing continuously," Meslin, a specialist on zoonoses, said.

The scientists warned that there was a lack of cooperation between animal and human health sectors that hampered efforts to prevent new diseases emerging in humans.

"We are not yet able to tell you when and where the next emerging zoonosis agent will crop up," Meslin said.

They also urged governments to take action to strengthen basic surveillance, research and treatment facilities throughout the world."

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Interesting stuff, Muaddib.
This would indeed appear to be true.
There was also the case of a few men contracted Rabbit fever last summer in Nebraska and becoming ill.