As Bird Flu Spreads, Disease Trackers Set Their Sights on Pets

Trupanion, a pet insurance company, is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a disease tracking system for pets. This system will utilize real-time insurance claims from Trupanion when sick pets visit the veterinarian. The goal is to proactively identify potential threats to pets and public health. The initiative, which involves academic scientists and other pet industry companies, will initially concentrate on bird flu, a virus that has been spreading among dairy cows and domestic cats. The partnership has been hailed as an important public-private collaboration in the field of One Health, which focuses on the interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health.