Veterinary education, zoonoses and public health: a personal perspective

Zoonotic disease poses an important threat to human public health and should therefore be taken seriously. A number of zoonoses also cause severe disease and loss of production in food producing animals. Many veterinarians are less aware of the importance of zoonoses than is desirable and medical clinicians who encounter zoonoses in human patients may either fail to recognise them or concentrate on treating the individual patient rather than disease control. This situation may be exacerbated where there is inadequate communication between veterinarians, the various health care professionals and public health organisations. Undergraduate and postgraduate training courses must promote a greater understanding of the importance of zoonoses and of how to investigate and control them. We also need to increase awareness amongst qualified veterinary personnel and human health care workers and to facilitate inter-disciplinary discussions and collaborative ventures. This paper suggests some ways to achieve these aims.