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Pets get ill. Sometimes, outbreaks of pet illnesses occur—but there is no Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for pet diseases. Owners decide whether to get their pets tested, and in most countries, there is no mechanism for veterinarians to formally notify one another nor a state body that tracks disease trends.
Moreover, surveillance of pets for new viruses or new variants is not routine. Veterinary scientists in the UK and the US are trying to change that with twin initiatives aimed at monitoring pet populations for outbreaks. Their aim is to alert vets about new microbial threats to animals, but some infectious disease researchers say such monitoring might one day also serve as early warning systems, detecting pathogens that threaten to spill over into people.
For many virologists, this fills a clear gap. “There is not a country on the planet that I’m aware ...
