Recent years have reinforced the notion that pandemics often originate in wild animals. Therefore, wildlife health surveillance is an integral part of a comprehensive national health system. This project analysed the current situation in Switzerland and proposes approaches to improve the current surveillance system. In a nutshell, we find that data on wildlife health is available. However, fragmentation of information and the absence of centralised, real-time data collection prevent their actionable interpretation.
Publication: Heiderich E, Keller S, Pewsner M, Origgi FC, Zürcher-Giovannini S, et al. (2024) Analysis of a European general wildlife health surveillance programme: Opportunities, challenges and recommendations. PLOS ONE 19(5): e0301438. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301438 (journal.pone.0301438_ger.pdf)
The project was jointly funded by the FSVO and FOEN. A comprehensive German-language project report including recommendations is available from the funders.
Contact for enquiries regarding the project: Mirjam Pewsner
