Surveillance of Zoonotic Infectious Disease Transmitted by Small Companion Animals

• Main Authors: Michael J. Day, Edward Breitschwerdt, Sarah Cleaveland, Umesh Karkare, Chand Khanna, Jolle Kirpensteijn, Thijs Kuiken, Michael R. Lappin, Jennifer McQuiston, Elizabeth Mumford, Tanya Myers, Clarisa B. Palatnik-de-Sousa, Carol Rubin, Gregg Takashima, Alex Thiermann
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2012-12-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: dogs; cats; small companion animals; emerging zoonoses; zoonoses; transmission
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/12/12-0664_article
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059

The One Health paradigm for global health recognizes that most new human infectious diseases will emerge from animal reservoirs. Little consideration has been given to the known and potential zoonotic infectious diseases of small companion animals. Cats and dogs closely share the domestic environment with humans and have the potential to act as sources and sentinels of a wide spectrum of zoonotic infections. This report highlights the lack of a coordinated global surveillance scheme that monitors disease in these species and makes a case for the necessity of developing a strategy to implement such surveillance.