• World Zoonoses Day is celebrated on 6 July in honor of Louis Pasteur, who administered the first rabies vaccine on this day in 1885.

• The interactive session tried to differentiate between zoonotic diseases and those affecting animals.

• Species-specific animal diseases, such as Foot and mouth Disease and lumpy Skin Disease, do not pose a threat to humans but may lead to unnecessary fear of animals.

• The session emphasized that all animal diseases are not zoonotic, citing the recent detection of African swine fever in the Thrissur district of Kerala.

• Prevention of zoonotic diseases requires integrated efforts combining vaccination, hygiene, husbandry practices, and cross-disciplinary collaboration under the One Health approach.

• The department has launched nationwide Brucella and Rabies vaccination campaigns and implemented an animal disease surveillance plan.

• The National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) has been established with multi-agency experts for collaborative outbreak investigations.

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