Jet set pets: examining the zoonosis risk in animal import and travel across the European Union

Fooks, Anthony R; Johnson, Nicholas

Where travel restrictions have been introduced, such as the conditions for entry into the EU, these must be enforced. This again requires compliance by the public and vigilance at border points. However, these are never perfect, so each member state needs to be able to provide a robust response to potential outbreaks. For the example of rabies, this would involve contact tracing of any humans and animals that could have been infected by the index case. Humans can be offered post-exposure vaccination, and animals with potential contact with a diseased animal would be assessed and receive vaccination and confinement until their health status could be confirmed. All these measures were applied when a rabid dog was brought into France from Morocco. 35 Underpinning all disease responses is a diagnostic service capable of rapid detection of pathogens. This could be organized at the member state level or by regional centers that service a number of countries. A further useful activity would be accurate risk mapping of disease distribution so that particular pathways for introduction of pathogens can be identified and prevented. In this endeavor, bodies such as the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the European Centre for Disease Control, can play a critical role in documenting the incidence of a disease, mapping its geographical distribution and making this information accessible to the general public.