ABOUT US

Human health and animal health are inextricably linked. Merck is committed to both.

Merck Animal Health, one of Merck's fastest growing business areas, is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of both companion and farm animals — which is good not only for animals but also good for humans.

According to the World Health Organization, about 75 percent of the new diseases that have affected humans over the past 10 years have been caused by pathogens originating from an animal or from products of animal origin.

The emergence of these novel pathogenic disease strains is likely to have been accelerated by the interdependency between humans, animals and the environment due to increases in:

• Demand for animal protein as a food source - annual meat production is expected to increase from 218 million tons in 1997-1999 to 376 million tons by 2030
• International travel
• International trade in live animals and food products
• Habitat degradation
• Pet ownership - 62 percent of U.S. households reported owning pets in 2011, up from 56 percent in 1988

"Strengthening the knowledge exchange between animal health and human health researchers to identify opportunities to prevent disease transmission is more important now than ever," said Richard R. DeLuca, Jr., president, Merck Animal Health. "Improving animal health may help to improve human health."

Learn more about Merck Animal Health.

• Print
• Share
• Text Size
• Access