Track Zoonotic Disease Like a Curious Vet.
Hey there, fellow vortexians! It’s Data & Tools Tuesday, and today we’re diving into something that sounds super scientific but is actually pretty fascinating (and slightly terrifying if you skipped your rabies booster). Today, we’re diving into how public data helps us to monitor the spread of zoonotic diseases, you know, the kind that jump from animals to humans. Cue dramatic music.
Let’s break this down so even your data-averse uncle (yes, the one who still uses Internet Explorer) can understand.
What Even Are Zoonotic Diseases?
Zoonotic diseases are infections that are transmitted between animals and people. Think rabies (shoutout to last week's Throwback Thursday), brucellosis, anthrax, bird flu, and everyone's favorite party crasher, COVID-19. These diseases don’t just affect our health, they can derail economies, food chains, and even the local cat café.
Around 60% of human infectious diseases are zoonotic, and about 75% of new or emerging diseases in people start in animals. So if you’re wondering whether keeping tabs on these is worth it, absolutely yes.
But How Do We Know When They’re Spreading and Track Them?
You:
- Treat the animal (duh).
- Document the symptoms.
- Send samples to the lab.
- Report the case, usually to a local or national animal health authority.
From there, disease trackers, epidemiologists, farmers, government officials and curious nerds like yours truly can see trends, hotspots, and emerging threats.
My First Data Love: ProMED
Fast forward to today, and ProMED is still my morning read, right after checking if my dog’s chewed up another slipper.
Cool Public Tools You Can (and Should) Explore
Even if you’re not a vet or scientist, these platforms are open to everyone. Think of them as disease-tracking Google Maps, but instead of traffic, you’re spotting outbreaks.
- What it does: Sends out early alerts of infectious disease outbreaks globally for both animal and human.
- Why I love it: It's fast, often faster than mainstream news. I once read about an anthrax outbreak in cattle in West Africa days before it hit headlines.
- What it does: The official reporting system of the World Organisation for Animal Health. Tracks global outbreaks like African swine fever, lumpy skin disease, and even bee colony collapses.
- Why it matters: The data is standardized and validated, crucial for making comparisons and assessing risk.
- What it does: Uses AI and media monitoring to visualize disease outbreaks on an interactive global map.
- Bonus: It’s pretty and easy to use, good for visual learners and quick scanning.
- What it does: Provides interactive dashboards and tools to help countries prioritize which zoonotic diseases they need to focus on and manage based on public health impact, animal health, economic risk and spread potential..
- What it does: Focuses on livestock, animal production, and food security. Critical for countries reliant on animal agriculture.
Tip: Bookmark them. You don’t need to scroll Instagram every time you’re waiting in line. Scroll disease maps instead. It’s oddly satisfying.
Why It Matters (How I Found Out the Hard Way That Open-Source Data Isn’t Just for Foreign Scientists)
A while ago, I stumbled across a thread from a vet in the U.S. who was treating a batch of rescue dogs. Two of them had weird symptoms, kind of like distemper, but not quite. She ran tests, reported the cases, and then cross-checked regional data using a tool I’d never heard of at the time - WAHIS.
Turns out, similar cases had been showing up in nearby shelters, and because she flagged it early, they caught it fast. A regional alert was raised, vaccination protocols were re-evaluated, and a potential outbreak was contained before it made the news.
At first, I thought: "Cool story, but that kind of stuff doesn’t happen here."
Then I asked myself, why not?I dug deeper. I checked out WAHIS myself. And ProMED. And HealthMap. And suddenly, I was neck-deep in data that actually included cases from Nigeria - including reports I hadn’t even seen in local news.It hit me: these tools weren’t just for scientists in Geneva or D.C.They were for me. For us.Since then, I’ve used open data to double-check suspicious trends, flag anomalies in livestock health, and even calm a nervous client with a map instead of a shrug.You don’t need a PhD or a plane ticket to protect your community, you just need to know where to look.
A while ago, I stumbled across a thread from a vet in the U.S. who was treating a batch of rescue dogs. Two of them had weird symptoms, kind of like distemper, but not quite. She ran tests, reported the cases, and then cross-checked regional data using a tool I’d never heard of at the time - WAHIS.
Turns out, similar cases had been showing up in nearby shelters, and because she flagged it early, they caught it fast. A regional alert was raised, vaccination protocols were re-evaluated, and a potential outbreak was contained before it made the news.
At first, I thought: "Cool story, but that kind of stuff doesn’t happen here."
Why YOU Should Care (Even If You’re Not a Vet)
Zoonotic diseases don’t wait for passport stamps. A sick bat in Asia could cause a health emergency in Africa or Europe, thanks to global travel, trade, and wildlife movement.
If you’re a:
- Farmer - You can track outbreaks near your herds.
- Pet owner - You can see what’s circulating in your area.
- Animal rescuer - Early warnings can help you quarantine smart.
- Public health student - This is your playground.
Open data makes prevention possible.
Nerdy but Worthy Takeaways:
- Public data saves lives – Not just by monitoring humans, but by tracking animal outbreaks before they spill over.
- Early detection = faster containment – The sooner we know something’s brewing, the better we can act.
- Every vet, farmer, and citizen can play a role – Got a weird case on your farm? Report it. See an uptick in bat activity? Don’t just tweet about it, flag it to local wildlife officials.
Challenge of the week: Be a Data Detective
- Search for recent animal disease alerts in your country or region.
- Screenshot or write down one interesting finding.
- DM it to me or tag @TheVetVortex on Instagram!
I’ll share the juiciest ones in next week’s post.
So next time you hear "public data", don’t yawn - perk up. Because behind that boring-looking spreadsheet could be the first clue to stopping the next pandemic.