{
  "id": 13899507,
  "title": "Wildlife disease surveillance at global scale needs stronger local networks: Study",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/wildlife-disease-surveillance-at-global-scale-needs-stronger-local",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-12T06:41:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wildlife-disease-surveillance-at-global-scale-needs-stronger-local-networks-study/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study has outlined a roadmap for nations to enhance wildlife health surveillance and disease monitoring. The research discovered that approximately 60% of the 107 countries examined lacked a functional system for tracking wildlife health. This deficiency poses significant risks to ecosystems, agriculture, and human populations, as it leaves them susceptible to devastating outbreaks, the authors contend. Co-author Sarah Olson, director of health at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), emphasized that while prior studies identified the problem, this new paper provides practical solutions to fortify surveillance despite resource limitations and fragmented networks. Olson explained to Mongabay via email, \"Earlier research did a good job diagnosing the problem in terms of what’s missing, and what wildlife health surveillance needs to deliver. This paper goes further: it uses a Theory of Change to map out how we actually close that gap, given limited resources and fragmented networks, to reach real collaborative surveillance.\" The study highlights that unmonitored disease events have already caused substantial ecological and economic harm, such as the 80% decline in Mongolia's endangered saiga antelope due to sheep and goat plague, and the ongoing mass mortality in wild bird and marine mammal populations from highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). The researchers noted that the spread of H5N1 has affected wild birds, urban wildlife, and live animal markets in cities like New York. The study's authors stressed the need for a global community of practice to scale efforts and expertise, as no single organization can address this challenge alone; the more collaborative the approach, the quicker surveillance can expand across the globe.",
  "summary": "A recent study has proposed a road map for countries to better monitor wildlife health and disease outbreaks. Previous research found that nearly 60% of the 107 countries it surveyed showed no evidence of a functional wildlife health surveillance system. This leaves ecosystems, agriculture, and human populations vulnerable to catastrophic outbreaks, the researchers say. The […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}