The US needs a 'high-level, authoritative mechanism' to coordinate the private, local, state and federal agencies that deal with the threat of animal-borne illnesses, according to a new report.

"In 2003, we woke up one morning and found out we had monkey-pox, West Nile virus and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in the United States, three diseases which had never existed here before," says Lonnie King, dean of the college of veterinary medicine at Michigan State University in East Lansing and chair of the panel that wrote the report, "Animal Health at the Crossroads."

"Three-quarters of the new human emerging disease in the past two to three decades have been animal-borne."

Increasing Encroachment

And the future probably will contain more such outbreaks given the increasing encroachment of humans into wildlife habitats, the globalization of food and agricultural production, changing climate patterns, the threat of bioterrorism and tens of thousands of planes and ships carrying potential infection in every direction, the report says.

To deal with the threat, the USA needs a "high-level, authoritative mechanism" to coordinate the private, local, state and federal agencies that deal with animal-borne illnesses, the report says.

One recommendation is for the Agriculture Department and the Homeland Security Department to work together to support the rapid development of tests and tools to detect, diagnose and prevent animal-borne diseases.

This would require that the USA's animal health laboratory network be expanded and that federal agencies begin working to jointly finance research programs on zoonotic, or animal-to-human, disease, the report says.

Number of Veterinary Pathologists Shrinking

Equally troubling is that as these problems have grown, the numbers of veterinarians, veterinary pathologists and researchers to deal with them is shrinking, says the second report, "Critical Needs for Research in Veterinary Science."

"A lot of veterinarians average $80,000 in debt when they finish their degrees, so it's very difficult to entice them to spend three more years in school getting their Ph.D" in veterinary pathology, says Jim Womack, the professor of veterinary pathobiology at Texas A&M University who chaired the panel that wrote the report.

There also is a shortage of money and facilities to conduct that research. For example, Womack says, there's only one Level 4 (the highest level) biocontainment laboratory in the USA that can deal with livestock.

Agriculture Department spokeswoman Hallie Pickhardt says the agency is prepared to respond with its federal and state partners to an animal health emergency but appreciates the additional guidance the reports give.

She adds that the USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, which monitors animal health in the USA, already has begun several programs to encourage veterinarians to work in the field of zoonotic disease and public health.