Harnessing animal health data to strengthen global disease surveillance
published on
10/08/2025
written by
Dr Navneet Dhand
Dr Navneet is a distinguished veterinary epidemiologist with over two decades of expertise in education and research. He is the CEO of One Health Epi Consulting and the Director of the Asia Pacific Consortium of Veterinary Epidemiology (APCOVE), which focuses on strengthening epidemiological capabilities in the Asia Pacific region. In 2020, he was nominated Research Leader in Veterinary Medicine in the Australian Special Research Report.
In today’s interconnected world, animal health is inseparable from human well-being and global security. Outbreaks of transboundary animal diseases can disrupt food systems, affect trade, and pose risks of zoonotic spillover.
To tackle these challenges, access to reliable information on diseases is vital for spotting threats early and responding effectively. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), through its World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS), collects and shares official disease data submitted by countries.
While this information is authoritative and trusted by the global community, raw data alone can be hard to interpret, as even the most valuable datasets require tools to help diverse audiences translate numbers into insights.
This is where Animal Disease Insights (ADI) comes in: an online platform that visualises and contextualises open animal health data. ADI complements WAHIS by transforming open data into intuitive visualisations, interactive maps, and integrated news intelligence, allowing users to quickly view outbreak hotspots, track trends over time, and compare disease patterns across countries.
By combining official reports with real-time media coverage, ADI provides a more dynamic and evidence-based picture of global animal health. Users can explore 20 years of historical outbreaks, follow emerging trends, and understand the broader context in which diseases appear and spread.
Outbreaks of HPAI (poultry) reported over the last five years.
The insights generated by open, free-to-use platforms like ADI are valuable for a wide range of audiences. Veterinarians and epidemiologists can use it to detect patterns and monitor disease spread. Policymakers gain a clearer picture of risks and can design targeted interventions. Students, educators, and journalists can access user-friendly visuals to deepen understanding and communicate effectively about complex health issues. By making open animal health data easier to interpret, the platform strengthens evidence-based decision-making at all levels.
Its main features include:
- Global disease trends: interactive maps, charts, and country rankings that reveal where and how diseases are spreading.
- Country-level insights: 20 years of historical outbreak data with the ability to zoom into specific outbreaks and events.
- News and media intelligence: Users can access the latest news coverage on over 130 animal diseases, searchable by disease. This stream is updated regularly and can be used by policymakers and professionals to monitor trends, detect early signals, and understand the broader context of outbreaks.
By combining official reports with real-time media coverage, the platform provides a richer, more dynamic picture of global animal health than data alone could deliver.
Country-level insights: Display of HPAI outbreaks in Indonesia since 2005.
Challenges and Opportunities
ADI has been developed entirely through its own resources, without external funding. Transforming massive datasets into clear, accessible formats requires standardisation, technical expertise, and ongoing maintenance. Ensuring the platform remains freely accessible also demands commitment and collaboration.
Yet the opportunities far outweigh the challenges. By reusing WOAH’s trusted WAHIS data through innovative, user-centred tools, ADI shows how open data can generate fresh insights, strengthen transparency, and foster cross-sector collaboration. As global health security increasingly depends on the One Health approach, ADI illustrates how information can be repurposed into formats that improve disease intelligence, strengthen preparedness, and support decision-making across sectors.
Looking ahead, the ADI team is exploring new features such as social media monitoring for early outbreak signals, regular news updates, predictive analytics, and broader integration of zoonotic and other datasets in collaboration with international partners. Together, these efforts aim to turn information into foresight, anticipating risks before they escalate and strengthening global health security.
Platforms like ADI demonstrate how information, when thoughtfully presented, can turn complex data into meaningful insights that support global health security. As animal health challenges grow in complexity, harnessing animal health data is essential. Collaborating across disciplines, sectors, and borders ensures that both human and animal populations are better prepared for the threats that lie ahead. The ultimate goal is clear: to protect animal health, improve livelihoods, and reinforce global health security for all.
Acknowledgments: We are grateful to WOAH for providing access to trusted data through WAHIS and for their support in addressing technical queries during development. We also acknowledge Google News as the source of the media coverage integrated into the platform.
The Animal Echo aims to promote individual and collective understanding of animal health and welfare. We bring you insights and opinions from experts across the world. The opinions expressed in The Animal Echo are those of the author (s) and may not necessarily reflect WOAH’s official position.
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