· Findings from a companion (pet) animal surveillance system can be used for a variety of purposes. First, they provide information about the health of pet populations and can be used to measure changes in disease frequency over time in specific geographic areas. This is important because there is no federal agency with responsibility for companion animals. Second, companion animal surveillance can provide information about threats to humans such as the presence of toxic chemicals or infectious agents in the environment or in the home.
· The same epidemiologic and biostatistical methods used to study the health of human populations can be applied to animal populations including descriptive and analytical techniques.
· Interest in surveillance of companion animals increased following the events of 9/11 when it became apparent that existing surveillance systems were probably not sensitive enough to respond to a bioterrorist event and that most biothreat agents affect companion animals in the same way they affect people.