家畜衛生分野における実践疫学教育

Abstract

Important animal diseases, such as BSE, highly pathogenic avian influenza and foot and mouth disease, occurred in Japan in recent years. These diseases severely damaged livestock industries and also increased social concerns about food safety and public health. With increasing the importance of animal health in the general public as well as the livestock industries, the role of “epidemiology” has been expected as a useful tool to understand and analyze disease situations and to support decision making for control and prevention of animal diseases. To meet these expectations, the veterinary epidemiology training course for local and national veterinary officials in working for animal health is held annually. The training course is sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and managed by the National Institute of Animal Health. The aim of this training course is to provide basic principles and skills of veterinary epidemiology applicable to animal disease control activities. During the training course, trainees firstly learn basic methods to analyze and interpret field data, to evaluate diagnostic tests, and to design observational studies and surveys using sampling methods. Then, they learn how to apply basic epidemiological methods to problems through practical exercises. These include outbreak investigations and epidemiological studies of diseases in animal populations. This training course provides good opportunities to brush up and develop appropriate knowledge and skills of epidemiology for veterinarians in the animal health field.