Diseases that can be shared between humans and animals, like rabies or bovine tuberculosis, have an enormous impact around the world. Especially in poorer communities, where livestock often provide food and a possible economic route out of poverty, such zoonotic diseases can worsen human health while reducing food production. A new analysis published this week (July 5) by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya maps the confluence of zoonotic disease, poverty, and livestock production, primarily in resource-poor nations. The authors hope that these maps will help policy-makers and public officials allocate funds and devise strategies for alleviating animal-borne diseases and poverty in the regions of the world most in need.
“The report is important because it helps shine a light on the ‘bottom one billion’”—the poorest sector of the global population, 70 percent of who own livestock, said Lonnie King, the dean of the Department of Veterinary Medicine ...
