Mysterious Disease Kills 400 Sheep in Mongolia

Mysterious Disease Kills 400 Sheep in Mongolia: "Mysterious Disease Kills 400 Sheep in Mongolia"

It seems that every time there is an outbreak of any kind anywhere near China these days, it must have been H5N1.

I admit to being a little frustrated with this. I find it unsettling that animals that people depend upon, including livestock and wildlife, often suffer from disease issues around the world with no attention from the public health community. Over 60% of diseases that affect humans come from animals as well as over 70% of emerging infectious diseases (reference). This is an alarm that those of us in the wildlife health community have been raising for years, but has fallen on deaf ears. When the gaze of the internet community finally recognizes that human and animal health are inextricably intertwined, it takes a narrow view of the problem and fails to recognize its complexity.

Avian influenza may very well have killed these sheep, but I am very skeptical. There are many other pathogens of greater likelihood that have been killing animals in this region for a very long time.

When it is shown that something else killed these sheep other than H5N1, will the internet community be willing to help the nomadic herdspeople who have, in a very short period of time, lost the equivalent of their life savings, their means of paying for health care or education for their children?