On the surveillance side, I have been part of ProMED mail almost since its inception and the moderator of the veterinary/zoonotic AHEAD. Quite apart from the excitement (and, truth be told, the many a long slog) one is privileged to get to know the many helpful and highly informed people around the world keen to share their knowledge, not infrequently outside the published literature. For over 30 years I have been involved in veterinary surveillance and control schemes throughout the world and am glad to share this experience and expertise, and learn.

As a unit we have a special expertise in anthrax, especially of livestock and wildlife, and specifically in the global distribution, control, and molecular epidemiology of Bacillus anthracis. We maintain a bibliography of the anthrax literature, presently with over 5,000 entries, which we are glad to share, as well as the national data on outbreaks worldwide. Much of the latter is dependent on official reporting systems, so corrections from informed sources are welcome, as well as criticism and comments. A FAQ site is planned utilising the WHO Anthrax Guide, and will be in English and Spanish. Training programs on the strain identification of B. anthracis isolates are being planned in conjunction with Paul Keim at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.

Louisiana is in the semi-tropics and therefore we have not only most of the northern latitude zoonoses and parasitoses, but also a number of tropical diseases on our doorstep—such as Hansen’s disease (in humans and armadillos), endemic cholera and other coastal vibrios, a variety of mosquito and midge-borne arboviruses—and within a day’s drive of Leishmania spp. and similar dry-ground infections. This makes it attractive for research.