They are finally here! The DISCONTOOLS Disease Sheets: 53 infectious diseases summarised, with the DISease CONtrol TOOLS available, and those we need to improve or secure animal health
and welfare. This highlights booklet includes 5 of the emerging or impactful human diseases in which animals play an important role.

Over the past 4 years, 23 new medicines were marketed in Europe on DISCONTOOLS listed diseases.
Despite this progress, important gaps remain. We hope theupdated Disease Sheets will make a useful contribution to the continued support for research, the delivery of new scientific insights and control tools and thus the of animal and public health.

Confinement, shifted priorities in lab testing, and the subsequent economic crisis has deeply affected the work of farmers, veterinarians and animal health researchers. This will undoubtedly have an impact on many animal diseases, for instance through reduced monitoring and surveillance activities, interrupted lab work and increased wildlife-livestock contacts. Veterinary sciences have an important role to play to prevent and control human and animal pandemics. 

All the updates have been carefully prepared with the resounding support of over 400 experts from academia, government and industry. They may be a useful resource to the benefit of animal health funders, researchers and students to focus research in needed areas.

Over the coming months, we will disseminate the Disease Sheets on a weekly basis. And at the end of the campaign, we will make all 53 Disease Sheets available in an e-booklet.