The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council will convene an expert committee to provide consensus advice on the challenge of achieving sustainable global capacity for surveillance and response to emerging diseases of zoonotic origin such as avian influenza. The committee will address the following issues:

1.      Review the emergence and spread over the last several decades of a diverse range of agents of zoonotic origin;

2.      Summarize what is known about the causes underlying this growing phenomenon, trends in these factors, and the implications for long-term domestic and international development and security;    

3.      Assess the evolving nature, extent, and risks of animal and human interactions, focusing specifically on recent infectious disease events of international significance, such as H5Nl influenza;

4.      Review the historic human and animal health responses to emergent zoonotic diseases along with lessons earned that may be applicable to future threats.

5.      Review the current state of and gaps in global systems for surveillance of zoonotic infections in human and animal populations;

6.      Develop conclusions on the appropriate balance between emergency response to threats and establishing sustainable global surveillance capacity for early detection, mitigation, and characterization of known, changing, and unknown threats;

7.      Identify and prioritize for the international context recommendations to strengthen and improve coordination of the human and animal health systems in order to achieve a sustainable and integrated institutional capacity for timely surveillance that could improve prevention of and response to zoonotic diseases across both realms; and

8.      Explore options—including policy and regulatory options, such as international agreements—to mitigate and decrease the threat of emerging zoonotic diseases worldwide, and to improve coordination between governments and other relevant international organizations.