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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2005;294:1890.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Current surveillance systems for monitoring animals for pathogens that can be transmitted to humans are inadequate, according to a group of infectious disease experts from the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, China, France, and Switzerland (Kuiken et al. Science. 2005;309:1680-1681).

Because animals, especially those in the wild, are believed to be the source of more than 70% of all emerging infections, including SARS, avian influenza, and HIV, surveillance in animals for zoonotic pathogens "is critical for managing those infections," the group noted. What is needed, they said, is an international group similar to the one formed in response to the avian influenza threat, with experts from the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, and other organizations to fashion a global surveillance system for zoonotic pathogens. Such a system, which would be integrated with public health surveillance, would provide early warnings of pathogen emergence . . . [Full Text of this Article]