Control of Zoonotic Diseases

Due to the increase in incidence of zoonotic diseases around the world, efforts have been made and are still being made to control zoonotic diseases.

Since zoonoses involve both humans and animals, efforts to control the diseases require working both with the health and veterinary sector. In as much as these two sectors have to work hand in hand, there is a very important aspect that we also have to consider in order to control these diseases, that is the communities involved.

In the past efforts have been done to control many infectious diseases but unfortunately the most crucial part is always left out until the last minute. Community involvement has always been left out until the last minute when an epidemic has hit or when there is an outbreak. Unfortunately when the disease has been controlled it is all forgotten. There is therefore need for continuity in community involvement to achieve effective control of zoonoses.

With zoonoses being spread from animal to humans through meat, animal products and animal excreta from both wild and domesticated animals, we have to go down to the grass roots, that is the people who live in close proximity with wild and domesticated animals. But who are the people likely to be in close proximity with these animals? These could be farmers, people who live within or in close proximity with rainforests, people working in arbatoires, cattle herders, bush hunters, park rangers, zoo keepers the list is endless. Apart from people who live in close proximity with animals, let us consider also those that consume meat and meat products.

As outlined above apart from experts from the health and veterinary, it is important to involve the community if efforts to control zoonoses have to succeed. How?

Step1:

Through surveillance of food sources in the villages and communities, this includes where they slaughter both their wild and domesticated animals, where they hunt, and most important to test the meat for diseases before it is consumed. In most developing countries, there are communities that are either isolated or have no facilities and or expertise to monitor and or test the meat for diseases. This is an important step as this could be a crucial step in controlling some of the zoonoses.

 Step2:

Knowledge and understanding of their eating and food storage habits, how does the community prepare their meat products, do they eat the meat raw, how do they handle the meat after slaughter?

This step is crucial in understanding where the source of the disease as well as it can be used as a screening process for what could be the zoonoses that can survive in the various methods of food processing used in the community and or village. For example if they consume the meat raw, then we start looking at zoonoses that are spread through animal blood, those that survive as cysts in the animal flesh, those present in the bowels and animal excreta and so on.

Step 3:

Sanitation, which includes disposal of animal remains, proximity of people to their livestock, management of livestock and exposure to animal excreta (in case of leptospirosis) is also another important factor to consider if we can control zoonoses. This point puts emphasis on the fact that an infected animal carcass or any animal remains are still a source of zoonoses. Poor disposal can lead to spread of diseases.

From these three steps outlined it is crucial to have community involvement much earlier even before the onslaught of the diseases. If through surveillance, there is knowledge of the possible zoonoses that could affect a particular community, it is importantl to alert the community before hand and offer the necessary training and advice to avoid the spread of the diseases. Knowledge of day to day habits of a community can be a good start in communicating to the community of the lurking dangers with regard to animals and their products. Community leaders have a good connection as regards communication and execution of instructions within their communities. These leaders are therefore an important link between health/veterinary experts and the entire community. It is important to understand hierarchies within the communities as this is a crucial aspect in communicating with communities especially in rural areas.