Volume 12, Number 4—April 2006
Perspective
Confronting Zoonoses, Linking Human and Veterinary Medicine
Laura H. Kahn*
Table 1
Veterinarians' choices of government agencies they would first notify regarding a companion animal patient with an unusual infectious disease*
| Choice | No. (%) |
|---|---|
| State agriculture agency | 326 (30) |
| State public health agency | 241 (23) |
| Local public health agency | 206 (19) |
| Other† | 116 (11) |
| Federal agency (USDA, FDA, CDC) | 111 (10) |
| Not sure | 30 (3) |
| Do not care for companion animals | 27 (3) |
| Did not answer question | 13 (1) |
| Total | 1,070 (100) |
*USDA, US Department of Agriculture; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
†A total of 76 (66%) of 116 said, "state veterinarian," 20 (17%) of 116 gave a combination of government agencies, and 20 (17%) of 116 gave miscellaneous answers, including Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, state veterinary diagnostic laboratory, and animal hospital employer.
