Parasitic zoonoses; public health and veterinary perspectives.

The importance of parasitic zoonoses continues to increase on both local and global scales as interactions between people and animals become more frequent through global travel, intensification of agriculture, habitat devastation, and changes in world trade patterns. A current and real threat is the potential for a deliberate introduction of a zoonotic disease through the prospect of bioterrorism. Parasitic zoonoses represent significant problems in public health, animal agriculture and conservation, and the meat industry. There is an urgent need for integration of medical and veterinary services, continuous disease surveillance in both humans and animals, the teaching of zoonoses to medical doctors, and intensified research on zoonotic agents and diseases. The convergence of both public health and veterinary services currently represents a real challenge for managing zoonotic diseases.