The monetary impact of zoonotic diseases on society: The Turkish Case

In this study, the burden of disease, costs, and animal losses caused by the seven most common zoonoses in humans and the two most common zoonoses in animals are calculated between 2016-2018 in Turkey. It aims to contribute to the literature by providing a holistic framework on the costs and burden of diseases of zoonoses in Turkey. The methodology of the study was based on the formula of ''Disease Burden of Zoonotic Diseases'' developed by the FAO. It was calculated under ''Burden of Early Mortality in Humans'', ''Burden of Morbidity in Humans'', "Financial Value of Lost Animals" and "Reduction in Production Capacity of Infected Animals". All cases which were registered in 2016, 2017 and, 2018 from the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF) concerning the relevant diseases were included in the study. It is found that the DALYs of all related zoonotic diseases increased and the costs for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention also rose between 2016-2018. The share of total social cost in the GDP of Turkey was estimated to be 0.0090% in 2016, 0.0097% in 2017, and 0.0113% in 2018. It is argued that the seven zoonoses in the scope of this study have an increasing burden graph on Turkish society between 2016-2018. Moving from the fact that most infectious diseases that threaten human and community health are of zoonotic origin and difficulties in predicting when, where or how a zoonotic disease will occur, all sectors should continue to carefully monitor events related to zoonoses and carry out joint studies.