World Zoonoses Day, 6 July 2017

World Zoonoses Day is held every year on July 6. The day commemorates July 6, 1885, when Louis Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against Rabies virus, a zoonotic disease. Theme day raises awareness for the risk of zoonotic diseases.

Zoonoses are infectious diseases (virus, bacteria and parasites) that can be spread from animals to humans, and vice versa. Zoonoses can spread from direct contact with animals or indirectly, vector-borne or food-borne.

Zoonotic diseases are very common, for example tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis. But also many foodborne infectious diseases like salmonella, Yersinia, EHEC, botulism or campylobacter are all also zoonoses.

How to avoid zoonotic diseases?

• Good hand hygiene by washing hands with soap and clean water
• Preventive clothing for bites from mosquitoes, ticks and fleas
• Store and handle food safely and cook properly
• Avoid bites and scratches from animals

In clinical laboratories remember to maintain high-quality diagnostics. Labquality organizes annually following external quality assessment schemes for zoonotic diagnostics:

Virology

5560 / Puumala virus, antibodies

5099 / Tick-borne encephalitis virus, antibodies

5635 / Dengue virus, antigen and antibody detection

Bacteriology

5180 / Salmonella, culture

5960 / Borrelia burgdorferi, antibodies

5190 / Faecal culture

5191 / Faecal bacterial pathogens, nucleic acid detection

Parasitology

5430 / Malaria, antigen detection

5420 / Toksoplasma, antibodies

5450 / Parasites in feces, virtual microscopy

5470, 5471 / Parasites in blood, virtual microscopy

5472 / Giardia and Cryptosporidium, nucleic acid detection

Learn more from zoonoses:

http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/food_and_waterborne_disease/Pages/index.aspx

https://www.thl.fi/en/web/infectious-diseases

Learn more from Labquality’s EQA schemes:

https://www.labquality.fi/en/external-quality-assessment/