United Nations Radio

The top United Nations official in charge of pandemic preparedness said on Monday that animal health can have wider implications for human beings.

Dr. David Nabarro

Dr. David Nabarro said that hundreds of millions of people depend on livestock for their livelihoods and at the same time diseases move from animals to affect people.

Dr. Nabarro said scientists have an important role to play in helping the world prepare for and then respond to diseases that come from animals.

"Now, the work that's being done by several groups around the world suggests that there is a reasonably consistent rate of emergence of these new pathogens, averaging at about two per year, and if you add them all up, three quarters of them come from the animal kingdom."

Dr. Nabarro said that globalization increases the opportunity for diseases to emerge from animals in one location and spread more widely around the world.

He was speaking to reporters in Vienna, where hundreds of scientists have gathered to discuss the importance of efficient ways of diagnosing and responding to animal diseases.

Donn Bobb, United Nations.

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