West Africa tackles human and animal health together to contain diseases

By Kieran Guilbert DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A drive by West African nations to tackle zoonotic diseases, those that jump from animals to humans, could help to protect the region from future health crises such as the world’s worst Ebola outbreak, a United Nations official said on Thursday. Ministers from the region met in Senegal last week to adopt an approach to infectious diseases that will address human and animal health together, and see countries work collaboratively to contain outbreaks of diseases ranging from bird flu to Zika. Three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases in recent years have spread to humans from animals or animal products, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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