International Workshop: My best friend, my surrogate - Pets as sentinels of human health – Book of abstracts.

Abstract

Pets are exposed to the same chemicals and are affected by similar diseases as humans. One key advantage of pets is their shorter latency periods. This makes them exhibit signs of disease earlier, serving as early warning systems, enabling timely public health interventions. Yet, the use of pets as sentinels remains relatively underused, mostly due to the lack of a generalized consensus and harmonized methodologies. To address this limitation, top specialists in the field were gathered at Évora University during a two-day workshop.