The second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century witnessed important changes in ecology, climate and human behaviour that favoured the development of urban pests. Most alarmingly, urban planners now face the dramatic expansion of urban sprawl, in which city suburbs are growing into the natural habitats of ticks, rodents and other pests. Also, many city managers now erroneously assume that pest-borne diseases are relics of the past. All these changes make timely a new analysis of the direct and indirect effects of present-day urban pests on health. Such an analysis should lead to the development of strategies to manage them and reduce the risk of exposure. To this end, WHO invited international experts in various fields - pests, pest-related diseases and pest management - to provide evidence on which to base policies. These experts identified the public health risk posed by various pests and appropriate measures to prevent and control them. This book presents their conclusions and formulates policy options for all levels of decision-making to manage pests and pest-related diseases in the future. [Ed.]

The World Livestock 2013: Changing disease landscapes looks at the evidence of changing disease dynamics involving livestock and explores three key areas: the Pressure, including drivers and risk factors that contribute to disease emergence, spread and persistence; the State, describing the disease dynamics that result from the Pressure and their subsequent impact; and the Response, required both to adapt and improve the State and to mitigate the Pressure. The report argues that a comprehensive approach for the promotion of global health is needed to face the complexities of the changing disease landscapes, giving greater emphasis on agro-ecological resilience, protection of biodiversity and efficient use of natural resources to ensure safer food supply chains, particularly in areas worst afflicted by poverty and animal diseases. Speeding up response times by early detection and reaction – including improved policies that address disease drivers – is key. Forging a safer, healthier world requires engagement in the One Health approach, which involves all relevant actors and disciplines spanning animal, human and environmental health sectors.

This report provides a review and analysis of the research landscape for zoonoses and marginalized infections which affect poor populations, and a list of research priorities to support disease control. The work is the output of the disease reference group on zoonoses and marginalized infectious diseases (DRG6), which is part of an independent think tank of international experts, established and funded by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), to identify key research priorities through the review of research evidence and input from stakeholder consultations. The report covers a diverse range of diseases including zoonotic helminth protozoa, viral and bacterial infections considered to be neglected and associated with poverty. Disease-specific research issues were elaborated under individual disease sections and many common priorities were readily identified among the disease such as need for new and/or improved drugs and regimens, diagnostics and, where appropriate, vaccines. The disease specific priorities are described as micro priorities compared with the macro level priorities which will drive such policies as the need for improved surveillance; the need for inter-sectoral interaction between health, livestock, agriculture, natural resources and wildlife in tackling the zoonotic diseases; and the need for a true assessment of the burden of the zoonoses. This is one of ten disease and thematic reference group reports that have come out of the TDR Think Tank, all of which have contributed to the development of the Global Report for Research on Infectious Diseases of Poverty.