Examining the stable door after the horse has bolted: Why is EIA such a challenge?

摘要

It is an unfortunate fact that research into a disease is only triggered when outbreaks that have a significant financial impact occur and, as a result, the responses are often frantic and ill thought out. Only then are some of the fundamental issues of the condition brought into public and scientific scrutiny and, all too frequently, we simply close the stable door after the horse has bolted or, more particularly, we examine the door to see why the horse has bolted and then close it (Brangan et al., 2008). Such retrospective approaches do little to encourage prospective disease research and surveillance since there is usually 憄anic? and hasty, irrational, wrong or unjustified decisions are frequently made. It is unwise simply to accept the dogma that is included in textbooks since that is often based on dubious science from ages past. With widespread movement of animals for sport, breeding, leisure or slaughter, it has become increasingly critical that more effort is made to encourage prospective research.