British Cattle Veterinary Association

When dealing with zoonoses and other hazards related to animals, cross-disciplinary collaboration is essential to protect public health. The failure to include relevant disciplines and their respective specialist knowledge will lead to faulty risk assessments and consequentially to late, patchy, exaggerated or mis-directed interventions. This will have public health and economical consequences. Barriers to cross-disciplinary collaboration exist between individuals and between organisations. Among the key factors facilitating successful cross-disciplinary collaboration are: establishment of personal contacts and inter-authority liaison; clear definition of processes, roles and responsibilities; and education and training to enhance the mutual understanding between disciplines.Veterinary public health, zoonoses, emerging diseases, emergency preparedness