Zoonoses are infections naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. They are an heterogenous group of infections with a varied epidemiology. They are monitored in England and Wales, by CDSC Wales on behalf of the PHLS.

Denominator/population at risk

England and Wales has a population of approximately 52 millions and there are about 265,000 farmers in England and Wales not including those in related industries (e.g. veterinary medicine, poultry and abattoir workers and animal breeders). Between 4.5 and 10 million individuals are estimated to visit farms as part of recreational and educational visits each year and in addition there is contact with companion animals and with animal products and foodstuffs.

Data sources

Sources of data on Zoonoses include the statutory notification system, death certification, occupational disease reporting and laboratory reports to CDSC.

Statutory Notification

All physicians are required by law to report diseases in patients in which they are in attendance (under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984). Case definitions are not included in the legislation. Diseases which are potentially zoonotic and which may be identified through this system are listed in table 1.

Death certification

Similarly, death certification is required by law. Annual and quarterly totals of deaths by cause are published by ONS.

Occupational disease reporting

Doctors must report certain diseases they believe to be occupationally acquired, to their patient’s employer. In turn, employers must report cases of these diseases (listed in table 1) to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1986.

Laboratory reports

Voluntary reports, based on diagnoses made from examinations carried out on clinical specimens/cases, provide the most comprehensive, timely and consistent data currently available in England and Wales on Zoonoses. Data are precise in that they are based on laboratory-diagnosed infection often accompanied by detailed typing. However, because their accuracy relies on physicians suspecting the diagnosis and choosing to seek laboratory confirmation rather than merely treating empirically, it is suspected that certain Zoonoses, especially those which may give rise to non-specific influenza-like symptoms such as Q fever or leptospirosis, are under-ascertained. Laboratory reports also provide information on some important Zoonoses that are not Notifiable, such as psittacosis and Q fever.

Summary data are available in the weekly Communicable Disease Report (CDR.)

Europe

Under the Zoonoses directive (92/117/EC) member states are obliged to report to the Directorate General VI (DGVI) of the European Commission data on specified Zoonoses (listed in table 1). This is collated annually by the Community Reference Laboratory (Epidemiology of Zoonoses) at the German Federal Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Consumer Protection. The data are published in the annual "Report on Trends and Sources of Zoonotic Agents According to Article 5 of Directive 92/117/EC".

Conclusion

The UK has a number of surveillance systems from which to asses the human burden contributed by zoonotic disease. Although they have evolved over time, are located within different organisations and have somewhat different specifications, in practice, they permit a relatively complete picture to be obtained.