Excluding Livestock Livelihoods in Refugee Responses: A Risk to Public Health

Abstract

The Syrian civil war caused a near total collapse of its health and veterinary infrastructure, affecting vaccinations, quarantine and border control. While outbreaks of zoonoses – diseases transmissible between animals and humans - in neighbouring countries are attributed to irregular cross-border movements, little remains known about the impact of conflict and displacement on livestock, and zoonotic disease risks in refugee and host populations.