Hilary is Consultant Epidemiologist in the Zoonoses section at the Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control at Public Health England – Colindale, and an Honorary Lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is a medical doctor with a background in hospital paediatrics and general practice, and Hilary’s main interests are in the epidemiology of specific zoonoses, in particular rabies, and risk assessment of new and emerging infectious threats. In the late 1990s Hilary changed career direction, completing the Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 1996 before working in West Africa for Medecins Sans Frontieres. Following this Hilary undertook Public Health training, and became a consultant at Colindale in 2006.
The past 25 years have seen more than 30 new or emerging infections identified around the world, including SARS, MERS, swine flu, hepatitis E and new variant CJD, with 75% of these infections considered to be zoonoses. Zoonoses are infections …
