06.09.2018Comment in Lancet: Initiation of Global Burden of Animal Diseases Programme

Animal health has major impacts on human health directly through zoonotic disease transmission, or indirectly through nutritional availability and environmental management. For human health, the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study has created a comprehensive dataset of diseases, injuries, and risk factors that is used to measure epidemiological levels and trends worldwide. An initiative to collect an equivalent dataset for animal diseases is being planned. A workshop, led by the University of Liverpool and the N8 Agrifood Resilience Programme, was held to initiate a programme for the Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs), where Paul Torgerson represented the Section of Epidemiology. It was hosted by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), convened by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and brought together experts in animal health and livestock production data collection and analysis, and information generation.

This issue could be raised as a comment to the readership of the Lancet.