News & Reports
News & Reports zoonoses
Companion animal zoonoses: risks and recommendations COMPANION animals play an integral role in human society, but may also pose risks with regard to the transmission of zoonotic infections to people, and also to farmed livestock. There are a range of policy and research actions that could be taken by the EU and/or national governments to further reduce the risks associated with this close integration of companion animals into human society. These are among the conclusions reached by the CALLISTO consortium (Companion Animal multisectoriaL interprofessionaL and Interdisciplinary Strategic Think tank On zoonoses), which has recently published its final report following a three-year, EU-funded project investigating zoonotic diseases transmitted between companion animals and people and food-producing animals. The consortium comprised nine partners, including the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations and the University of Bristol. The objectives of the project, which ran as three cycles from 2012 to 2014, were: n Cycle 1 (2012) – To develop a detailed overview of the role of companion animals as a source of infectious diseases for man and food animals, including available information on disease incidence and geographical distribution in these host categories. n Cycle 2 (2013) – To identify knowledge and technology gaps in the management of the most important zoonoses transmitted by companion animals. n Cycle 3 (2014) – To propose targeted actions that contribute to reducing the risk for infectious disease outbreaks and to disseminate the results of CALLISTO to relevant stakeholders with the aim of promoting risk awareness in healthy and balanced human/animal relationships. Having completed the three project cycles, the consortium’s final report contains a range of recommendations, grouped into five areas: demographics and tracing/movement of companion animals;
education and communication; surveillance and infection control; risk assessment; and new tools for diagnosis, prevention and therapy. It prioritises its recommendations using a three-star ranking system. Among the highest priority recommendations relating to demographics and tracing, the consortium says that more robust data must be gathered on the numbers and distribution of owned and free-roaming (including stray) companion animals in the EU in order to quantify the actual risks posed by zoonotic diseases attributable to companion animals, and to develop sustainable interventions to prevent transmission to people and livestock. It also recommends that systems for microchip identification of companion animals should be developed and that microchipped animals should be registered in a cross-border, accessible database. Among the priority recommendations relating to education and communication the consortium says that opportunities should be created for informing doctors, veterinarians, owners and other relevant people about companion animal zoonoses. ‘Specifically, from a One Health perspective, increasing the knowledge of human physicians in this area is crucial,’ it says. In terms of surveillance and infection control, it recommends that a European network should be created, linked to the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Control, to monitor the prevalence of known zoonotic
agents in the relevant companion animal species, and to rapidly detect the emergence of new zoonotic infectious diseases using companion animals as sentinels. ‘Such data should be obtained from veterinary practices and commercial veterinary diagnostic laboratories and captured into a computerised database,’ it recommends. Regarding risk assessment, it recommends that multicentre case-control studies should be initiated to evaluate the role of companion animals as a source of infection for people by determining the ‘population attributable fraction’ of disease (that is, the percentage of total cases that may be attributed to the action of a specific risk factor; for example, the ownership of a companion animal). In its recommendations relating to new tools for diagnosing, preventing and treating the diseases, the consortium suggests that some form of regulation should be introduced for the use in companion animals of the antibiotics that have been identified as being critically important in human medicine. It also says that new alternative veterinary antimicrobials should be developed, as should alternative treatment strategies to manage multidrug resistant infections in companion animals. Concluding, the consortium says that companion animals play an integral role in human society, providing ‘very real human health and welfare benefits’. However, it adds, there is some risk that close human contact with companion animals could lead to the transmission of numerous different types of zoonotic disease, and that companion animals could be a source of some infections for farmed livestock. ‘This risk must be communicated to the pet-owning public in a balanced fashion by veterinary and human healthcare professionals, the pet industry and governments. The risk may be somewhat ameliorated if the owners of companion animals subscribe to the principles of responsible pet ownership.’ n The final report can be downloaded from www.callistoproject.eu doi: 10.1136/vr.h1630 March 28, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 319
Copyright of Veterinary Record: Journal of the British Veterinary Association is the property of BMJ Publishing Group and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
News & Reports zoonoses
Companion animal zoonoses: risks and recommendations COMPANION animals play an integral role in human society, but may also pose risks with regard to the transmission of zoonotic infections to people, and also to farmed livestock. There are a range of policy and research actions that could be taken by the EU and/or national governments to further reduce the risks associated with this close integration of companion animals into human society. These are among the conclusions reached by the CALLISTO consortium (Companion Animal multisectoriaL interprofessionaL and Interdisciplinary Strategic Think tank On zoonoses), which has recently published its final report following a three-year, EU-funded project investigating zoonotic diseases transmitted between companion animals and people and food-producing animals. The consortium comprised nine partners, including the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations and the University of Bristol. The objectives of the project, which ran as three cycles from 2012 to 2014, were: n Cycle 1 (2012) – To develop a detailed overview of the role of companion animals as a source of infectious diseases for man and food animals, including available information on disease incidence and geographical distribution in these host categories. n Cycle 2 (2013) – To identify knowledge and technology gaps in the management of the most important zoonoses transmitted by companion animals. n Cycle 3 (2014) – To propose targeted actions that contribute to reducing the risk for infectious disease outbreaks and to disseminate the results of CALLISTO to relevant stakeholders with the aim of promoting risk awareness in healthy and balanced human/animal relationships. Having completed the three project cycles, the consortium’s final report contains a range of recommendations, grouped into five areas: demographics and tracing/movement of companion animals;
education and communication; surveillance and infection control; risk assessment; and new tools for diagnosis, prevention and therapy. It prioritises its recommendations using a three-star ranking system. Among the highest priority recommendations relating to demographics and tracing, the consortium says that more robust data must be gathered on the numbers and distribution of owned and free-roaming (including stray) companion animals in the EU in order to quantify the actual risks posed by zoonotic diseases attributable to companion animals, and to develop sustainable interventions to prevent transmission to people and livestock. It also recommends that systems for microchip identification of companion animals should be developed and that microchipped animals should be registered in a cross-border, accessible database. Among the priority recommendations relating to education and communication the consortium says that opportunities should be created for informing doctors, veterinarians, owners and other relevant people about companion animal zoonoses. ‘Specifically, from a One Health perspective, increasing the knowledge of human physicians in this area is crucial,’ it says. In terms of surveillance and infection control, it recommends that a European network should be created, linked to the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Control, to monitor the prevalence of known zoonotic
agents in the relevant companion animal species, and to rapidly detect the emergence of new zoonotic infectious diseases using companion animals as sentinels. ‘Such data should be obtained from veterinary practices and commercial veterinary diagnostic laboratories and captured into a computerised database,’ it recommends. Regarding risk assessment, it recommends that multicentre case-control studies should be initiated to evaluate the role of companion animals as a source of infection for people by determining the ‘population attributable fraction’ of disease (that is, the percentage of total cases that may be attributed to the action of a specific risk factor; for example, the ownership of a companion animal). In its recommendations relating to new tools for diagnosing, preventing and treating the diseases, the consortium suggests that some form of regulation should be introduced for the use in companion animals of the antibiotics that have been identified as being critically important in human medicine. It also says that new alternative veterinary antimicrobials should be developed, as should alternative treatment strategies to manage multidrug resistant infections in companion animals. Concluding, the consortium says that companion animals play an integral role in human society, providing ‘very real human health and welfare benefits’. However, it adds, there is some risk that close human contact with companion animals could lead to the transmission of numerous different types of zoonotic disease, and that companion animals could be a source of some infections for farmed livestock. ‘This risk must be communicated to the pet-owning public in a balanced fashion by veterinary and human healthcare professionals, the pet industry and governments. The risk may be somewhat ameliorated if the owners of companion animals subscribe to the principles of responsible pet ownership.’ n The final report can be downloaded from www.callistoproject.eu doi: 10.1136/vr.h1630 March 28, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 319
Copyright of Veterinary Record: Journal of the British Veterinary Association is the property of BMJ Publishing Group and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
