The Human-Animal Interface and Zoonotic Threats: The Russian Federation Approach

Abstract

Zoonotic pathogens have caused the majority of emerging infectious disease events in the past 6 decades. With most emerging infectious diseases arising from animal origins, including many of the select agents identified as most likely candidates for bioterrorism, linking human and animal surveillance systems will be critical to effective disease identification and control in the future. Lack of this linkage has been the focus of a number of important policy papers in recent years. These have expressed concern over the continued lack of preparedness for addressing zoonotic threats and have called for a new approach to integrating biosurveillance. However, these studies have been mainly Western-centric in viewpoint and have overlooked the example of the Russian Federation (RF) Anti-Plague System (AP system). In this article we submit that the RF AP system has select components that effectively address recent concerns and inform the US and UK intersectoral efforts on human-animal health surveillance, forming a basis for US, UK, and RF collaboration.

Most emerging infectious disease events in the past 6 decades have been caused by zoonotic pathogens. Thus, linking human and animal surveillance systems is critical to effective disease identification and control. Recent studies that have expressed concern over the failure to address zoonotic threats have called for a new approach to integrating biosurveillance. But these studies have been mainly Western-centric in viewpoint and have overlooked the example of the Russian Federation's Anti-Plague System. This article describes that system's approach to human-animal health surveillance.