(Nature) – Spread of diseases between humans and animals is an issue around the world. But AI models can be used to monitor their progress.

In 2003, the non-profit organization Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) in Entebbe, Uganda, began work to protect the gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from diseases, such as scabies, that were traced to their human neighbours. The team uses a holistic One Health approach that balances the needs of people with the health of the animals and the ecosystems that surround them. Typically, the process has been reactive: responding to outbreaks as they emerge, says Ssali Ronald Ogwal, a public-health specialist at the CTPH. But the organization is now shifting towards a more proactive, disease-prevention approach — thanks, in part, to artificial intelligence. (Read More)