Globalization and climate change are elevating zoonotic disease threats, according to researchers. Zoonoses are illnesses that move between animals and people, caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. While Covid-19 remains a concern around the globe, and with imminent risks from diseases such as monkeypox, Ebola, or Zika, public administrations are stepping up vigilance to reduce exposure to these emerging threats.
The World Health Organization emphasizes that pathogens passing from animals to humans are a global public health challenge. Factors like population growth, greater mobility, ecosystem disruption, and wildlife trade have accelerated their spread in recent years.
Valencia and other autonomous regions invest around 4 million euros annually in animal surveillance and control programs to prevent common diseases in major livestock sectors. These include swine fever and Aujesky in pigs, bird flu and salmonellosis in poultry, tuberculosis and bluetongue in cattle, brucellosis and smallpox in sheep and goats, myxomatosis in rabbits, and varroa related issues in beekeeping. Aquaculture facilities are also carefully monitored.
For pets, the Valencian Council of Veterinary Colleges highlighted risks of echinococcosis, a zoonosis caused by the parasites Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus multilocularis. Hydatidosis results from human infection by ingesting worm eggs, which then form cysts in the body. E. granulosus involves worms found in dogs and livestock, while E. multilocularis involves dogs, cats, rodents, and foxes, and can cause severe liver lesions. The emergence of new diseases shows how easily an area can become affected when vigilance lags.
Authorities have intensified pest prevention and eradication efforts. Protecting cattle health is not only about farm profitability; it is essential to reduce disease transmission to people and ensure safe animal products. This stance comes from Roger Llanes, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Days after this view, the Generalitat Valenciana announced a surveillance scheme for smallpox on 32 sheep and goat farms. The program targets 21,000 animals from farms in Castilla-La Mancha, the national center of a highly contagious disease with high mortality but no human transmission. The Valencian flock comprises about 350,000 head, compared with 3.5 million in Castilla-La Mancha.
The point, as Llanes notes, is that farm to table requires trusted, healthy food. Monitoring livestock across the supply chain helps maintain food safety and consumer confidence. He stresses that animals and any substances harmful to humans should be watched across all stages of production, with strong regional coordination in place.
Alongside these measures, the Ministry of Agriculture allocated just over €1.5 million in 2022 to tuberculosis control, to protect birds from avian flu and salmonellosis, and to address Aujesky and other pig diseases. The program outlines the analysis laboratory network that will run diagnostic tests, led by the Animal Health Analysis Unit, the central lab of the General Directorate of Agriculture, with hundreds of analyses conducted annually.
key to export
Animal health is a cornerstone of the sector’s economic competitiveness. It supports the opening and maintenance of trade with countries beyond the local market. Export rules depend on established protocols, agreements, and legal procedures, and disease outbreaks can restrict the movement of animals and animal products both inside and outside the country. The African swine fever case in Germany serves as a stark reminder of the potential economic impact.
According to Llanes, livestock management must oversee every link in the food chain to ensure animal welfare and avoid any toxin risks. Disease surveillance programs require coordinated action across regions. When a transboundary outbreak occurs, a swift, united response among all regions becomes essential for rapid containment and ongoing trade stability. Recent bird flu detections in multiple nations have underscored the need for shared vigilance among cattle farms and other holdings in the region.
draw a lesson
Inmaculada Ibor, president of the Valencian Community College of Veterinarians, argues that the only viable approach is a One Health perspective, a paradigm introduced at the turn of the century. Experience from past livestock crises shows that people interact closely with animals in a world shaped by climate change. Shared health means safeguarding animal health alongside environmental well-being to improve public health. About six in ten diseases originate in animals, a reminder of the deep connections between creatures and humans.
She advocates expanding surveillance beyond edible animals to include pets living at home. The Valencian Community supports an Epizootiological Surveillance Network within the healthcare system, focusing on ten major zoonoses that affect pets and have the potential to affect humans. Since 2016, when clinicians diagnose one of these diseases in cats or dogs, reporting to the Valencian Animal Identification Registry enables monitoring the disease’s evolution, spread, and the risks to human health.